ArticleThe Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine2021
Youth Relationships in the Era of COVID-19: A Mixed-Methods Study Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Kenya.
Article in The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Food insecurity and gender-based violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Association between public health emergencies and sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, and early marriage among adolescent girls: a rapid review.BMC public health · 2023Pooled it
- Gender dimensions of health-related challenges among urban poor during COVID-19 pandemic in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review and gap analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Exploring the adult sexual wellbeing and behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Mental Health and Sexual Dating Violence Victimization Among U.S. High-School Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results From 2021 National Survey.AJPM focus · 2026Article
- Messenger-based chat counseling for young people in times of personal and global crises: evaluating the long-term feasibility of "krisenchat".Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Intimate partner violence trajectories over a 1-year period in a population-based cohort of women in Kenya: associations with individual and community normative factors.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- The thought that i could continue with school got lost: a qualitative exploration of the impact of COVID-19 on the education and sexual and reproductive health of Malawi youth.Reproductive health · 2025Article
- Mixed-method longitudinal investigation of sexual and gender-based violence following COVID-19 in South Africa.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Trends in Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes Before and Into the COVID-19 Pandemic in Burkina Faso and Kenya: Evidence From Panel Data.The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine · 2024Article
- COVID-19 Pandemic and Hospitalizations due to Abortion among 10- to 14-Year-Old Girls in Brazil.Portuguese journal of public health · 2024Article
- Integrating Mental Health Management into Empowerment Group Sessions for Out-of-School Adolescents in Kenyan Informal Settlements: A Process Paper.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Factors associated with adolescent pregnancy in Maharashtra, India: a mixed-methods study.Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2023Article
- Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programming adaptations in response to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2023Article
- Assessing the health, social, educational and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a rapid review of the literature.Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2023Review
- Examining gender and sexual orientation differences in physical intimate partner violence experienced and perpetrated by youth living in eThekwini district South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Article
- Ethical reporting of research on violence against women and children: a review of current practice and recommendations for future guidelines.BMJ global health · 2023Article
- "I am scared, I do not want to lie": exploring the impacts of COVID-19 on engagement in care, perceived health, relationship dynamics, and parenting among postpartum women with HIV in South Africa.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Building forward better-An exploration of nutrition practices, food choice, and coping behaviors among Kenyan adolescents during COVID-19: Experiences and program implications.Food science & nutrition · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMeasures to mitigate COVID-19's impact may inhibit development of healthy youth relationships, affecting partnership quality and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes.
methodsWe conducted a mixed-methods study to understand how COVID-19 affected girls' and young women's relationships in Kenya. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression examined factors associated with relationship quality dynamics and SRH outcomes among 756 partnered adolescents aged 15-24 years. Qualitative data from in-depth interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis to explore youth perceptions of how intimate relationships changed during COVID-19.
resultsNearly three-quarters of youth described changes in relationship quality since COVID-19 began, with 24% reporting worsening. Reduced time with partners was the strongest predictor of changed relationship quality. Youth experiencing complete or partial COVID-19-related household income loss had heightened risk of deteriorating partnerships (relative risk ratio = 2.43 and 2.02; p < .05); those whose relationships worsened were more likely to experience recent intimate partner violence, relative to no relationship change (20.8% vs. 3.5%; p < .001). Qualitative analysis revealed how COVID-19 mitigation measures hindered intimate relationships, school closures accelerated marriage timelines, and economic hardships strained relationships, while increasing early pregnancy risk and girls' financial dependency on their partners.
conclusionsCOVID-19 disrupted adolescent girls' and young women's romantic relationships, depriving some of partner emotional support and exposing others to sexual violence, early pregnancy, and economically motivated transactional relationships. Increased social support systems, including access to psychosocial services, are needed in low-income communities in Kilifi, Kisumu, and Nairobi, in particular the informal settlement areas, to mitigate COVID-19's consequences on girls' SRH.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.