ArticleReproductive health2024
"You cannot stay with one person once you begin having sex at a young age": the prevalence, correlates and effects of early sexual debut among children in Ghana.
Article in Reproductive health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Accelerating HIV Prevention in Cameroon: Factors Associated with Sexual Risk Behaviours and Increased HIV Exposure Among 15-19-Year-Old Adolescent Girls.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Identifying sexual behavioural choices when commencing pre-exposure prophylaxis: Findings from a public health facility in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.Southern African journal of HIV medicine · 2026Article
- Risky sexual behaviours and associated factors among high school students in Lomé, Togo: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Cervical cancer knowledge among high school students in Southern Ghana.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Urban-rural differences in caregivers' willingness to support adolescent girls' contraceptive use in Ghana: a comparative study.Contraception and reproductive medicine · 2025Article
- Prevalence of sexual intercourse and risk factors among adolescents in schools in Guinea.Journal of public health in Africa · 2025Article
- Sexual activity and contraceptive use among adolescents: A descriptive survey in a Ghanaian municipality.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChildren's initiation of early sex has several negative implications on their sexual and reproductive health, growth and development. In Ghana, few studies on early sexual debut have focused on adolescents. Therefore, this study examined the prevalence, causes, correlates and effects of early sexual debut among children aged 8 to 17 in Ghana using secondary data from the Department of Children of the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection.
methodsA convergent parallel mixed-method approach guided the study. Descriptive statistics and multivariable binary logistic regression were used to analyse the quantitative data, while thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data.
resultsThe study found that the prevalence of early sexual debut among children was 13.2%, which is more predominant among female children. The main causes of early sexual debut include engaging in sex after watching pornography, self-desire to have sex, and being influenced by alcohol consumption. Also, age, sex, education, marital status, religion, ecological zone, living arrangements, and access to the Internet were significant correlates of early sexual debut. Early sexual debut increases children's risk of unwanted pregnancy, which leads to the termination of children's education or induced abortion. Also, early sexual debut had adverse impacts on the wellbeing of pregnant children and increased children's risk of multiple lifetime sexual partners.
conclusionsThis study demonstrated that socio-demographic characteristics of children (e.g., age, sex, education, and marital status) were significant correlates of early sexual debut. Policymakers need to design appropriate interventions, considering the socio-demographic characteristics of children, to curb its occurrence in Ghana.
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