ArticleBMC public health2026
Promoting responsible sexual behaviour among school-going adolescents in Mpumalanga province in South Africa.
Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
backgroundIrresponsible sexual behaviour among school-going adolescents is a major concern among different stakeholders in South Africa. In 2019, among 106 383 registered live births among adolescents in South Africa, 10% were in the Mpumalanga Province.
objectiveThis article explores and reports on the challenges that school-going adolescents face in achieving responsible sexual behaviour and aims to develop effective recommendations to promote safer sexual behaviours. METHODOLOGY: This article was an extract from the main study that employed a qualitative inquiry using an exploratory and descriptive phenomenological approach. The main study was conducted between 2021 and 2022. The current study explores and describes challenges school- going adolescents aged 15 to 19 years face in achieving responsible sexual behaviours. The data were collected via focus group discussions in high schools in one of the townships in the Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. Non-probability sampling using snowballing from the sample of school-going adolescents who previously participated in the main study's quantitative strand enabled the selection of a sample of 14 school-going adolescents who were able to contribute meaningful information to the study. Qualitative data were analysed manually using Creswell's thematic analysis, with emerging themes, subthemes and categories.
findingsSix themes emerged from the inductive manual thematic analysis: Overwhelming pressures to engage in unsafe sexual behaviours; diffused parental role in awareness and support around adolescents' sexual and reproductive health (SRH); poor sexual and reproductive health knowledge ; immaturity, lack of self-control and curiosity; poor access, acceptability and utilisation of SRH services and financial constraints in the relationship were reported as challenges adolescents faced to achieving safer sexual well-being.
conclusionsThe findings revealed that adolescents face many challenges to achieve responsible sexual behaviour. Actionable recommendations were devised to overcome these challenges and these are: involving peer educators who share SRH information, guide, and promote behaviour change. Adolescents must utilise role models, parental and adolescent support groups whom they can emulate from healthy sexual behaviours. Adolescents must seek strong parental support when utilising SRH services like contraceptive use. Campaigns that encourage parents to be role models of good values, morals and social skills should be initiated. Peer adolescents should promote access, acceptability and utilisation of adolescents' SRH services. Media platforms like links and websites where correct sexual and reproductive health knowledge should be accessible by adolescents.
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