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Determinants of Sexual Activity and Pregnancy among Unmarried Young Women in Urban Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Study
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVES: With age of marriage rising in Kenya, the period between onset of puberty and first marriage has increased, resulting in higher rates of premarital sexual activity and pregnancy. We assessed the determinants of sexual activity and pregnancy among young unmarried women in urban Kenya. METHODS: Baseline data from five urban areas in Kenya (Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Machakos, and Kakamega) collected in 2010 by the Measurement, Learning & Evaluation project were used. Women aged 15-24 years, who had never been married, and were not living with a male partner at the time of survey (weighted n = 2020) were included. Using weighted, multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression and logistic regression analyses, we assessed factors associated with three outcome measures: time to first sex, time to first pregnancy, and teenage pregnancy. RESULTS: One-half of our sample had ever had sex; the mean age at first sex among the sexually-experienced was 17.7 (± 2.6) years. About 15% had ever been pregnant; mean age at first pregnancy was 18.3 (± 2.2) years. Approximately 11% had a teenage pregnancy. Three-quarters (76%) of those who had ever been pregnant (weighted n = 306) reported the pregnancy was unwanted at the time. Having secondary education was associated with a later time to first sex and first pregnancy. In addition, religion, religiosity, and employment status were associated with time to first sex while city of residence, household size, characteristics of household head, family planning knowledge and misconceptions, and early sexual debut were significantly associated with time to first pregnancy. Education, city of residence, household wealth, early sexual debut, and contraceptive use at sexual debut were associated with teenage pregnancy for those 20-24 years. CONCLUSION: Understanding risk and protective factors of youth sexual and reproductive health can inform programs to improve young people's long-term potential by avoiding early and unintended pregnancies.
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Religion is a determinant of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa.
“religion and early marriage [28, 39, 40].”
From Determinants of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review (2018) · cites this paper as [40]
The Discussion describes religiosity as a protective factor in a study of unmarried young women in urban Kenya. But the Results (Table 4) show no statistically significant association between religion or religiosity and time to first pregnancy. The source therefore does not establish religion as a determinant of adolescent pregnancy across sub-Saharan Africa. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredLack of knowledge and misconceptions about contraceptives are determinants of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Lack of knowledge, misconceptions, and non-use of contraceptives [19, 23, 29, 30, 35, 38, 40, 44, 45]”
From Determinants of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review (2018) · cites this paper as [40]
The Results associate family-planning misconceptions with earlier first pregnancy, and the Discussion associates non-use of contraception at first sex with teen pregnancy. But the Results associate *greater*, not lesser, contraceptive-method knowledge with earlier pregnancy; the authors suggest knowledge may follow sexual experience and caution that their cross-sectional data cannot establish causality. The study concerns unmarried young women in urban Kenya, not adolescents across sub-Saharan Africa. (LLM, conf=0.90)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSevere family dysfunction with parental neglect is a determinant of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa.
“In addition, lack of parental counseling and guidance, severe family dysfunction with parental neglect [23, 26, 31, 33–37, 40, 41, 45, 46].”
From Determinants of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review (2018) · cites this paper as [40]
The Discussion and Conclusion (page unavailable) identifies poverty, larger households, and female-headed households as factors associated with pregnancy and suggests that young women in these households may have less supervision. It does not establish severe family dysfunction or parental neglect as determinants, and its findings concern unmarried young women in urban Kenya rather than adolescents across sub-Saharan Africa. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredLack of parental counseling and guidance is a determinant of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa.
“In addition, lack of parental counseling and guidance, severe family dysfunction with parental neglect [23, 26, 31, 33–37, 40, 41, 45, 46].”
From Determinants of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review (2018) · cites this paper as [40]
The Discussion and Conclusion (page unavailable in our copy) associates larger, female-headed, and poorer households with pregnancy risk among unmarried young women in urban Kenya and suggests they may have less supervision. It does not identify a lack of parental counseling or guidance as a measured determinant, nor establish the claim across sub-Saharan Africa. (LLM, conf=0.79)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredNon-use of contraceptives is a determinant of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Lack of knowledge, misconceptions, and non-use of contraceptives [19, 23, 29, 30, 35, 38, 40, 44, 45]”
From Determinants of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review (2018) · cites this paper as [40]
The Discussion and Conclusion reports that unmarried women aged 20–24 in urban Kenya who did not use contraception at first sex were significantly more likely to have had a teenage pregnancy. This supports an association in that study population, but not the broader claim about non-use generally across sub-Saharan Africa. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Misconceptions about contraceptives are determinants of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa.
“misconceptions about contraceptives [15, 19, 23, 27, 29, 30, 34, 35, 38, 40, 45, 46].”
From Determinants of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review (2018) · cites this paper as [40]
The Discussion and Conclusion reports that family-planning myths and misconceptions were associated with a greater risk of pregnancy among unmarried young women in urban Kenya. This supports an association, but the claim extends the finding to adolescents across sub-Saharan Africa and calls misconceptions determinants; the study does not establish that broader or causal claim. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredEarly marriage is a determinant of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa.
“religion and early marriage [28, 39, 40].”
From Determinants of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review (2018) · cites this paper as [40]
The Introduction (page unavailable) says that a rising age at first marriage increases the period in which premarital sex and unintended pregnancy may occur. The study examines unmarried young women and does not assess whether early marriage is a determinant of adolescent pregnancy. Searches for early marriage and marriage-related pregnancy factors found no passage establishing the claimed relationship. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
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Citations
Cites
Sexual Initiation and Premarital Childbearing in Sub-Saharan Africa
Meekers, D. (1994) · Population Studies · doi:10.1080/0032472031000147466 · Cited by 122 · cited 1×
“[7, 13–18] Premarital sexual activity and consequently pregnancy have socioeconomic consequences such as decreased probability of completing education, decreased probability of gainful participation in the workforce, lower social standing, and increased dependency on social welfare programs.”
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Cited by
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Determinants of adolescent pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review
Yakubu, I., & Salisu, W. J. (2018) · Reproductive Health · doi:10.1186/s12978-018-0460-4 · Cited by 634
Metadata
- Authors
- Okigbo, C. C., & Speizer, I. S.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Corresponding author
- Okigbo, Chinelo C.
- Venue
- PLOS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2015-06-05
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- e0129286
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4457813
- OpenAlex
- W1123415842
- Cited by
- 64
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 6.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- UNC Libraries
- Funders
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- National Institutes of Health (2r24hd050924-06)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (R24 HD050924, 5 R24 HD050924)
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R24-HD050924, 5‐R24‐HD050924)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R24 HD-050924, HD050924, P2CHD050924)
- Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (R24HD050924, HD050924, 5 R24 HD050924)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Reproductive Health and Contraception
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
- Keywords
- premarital sex, adolescent pregnancy, unmarried young women, age at first sexual intercourse, age at first pregnancy, unintended pregnancy, early sexual initiation, contraceptive use, family planning knowledge, religiosity, secondary education, urban Kenya, adolescent sexual and reproductive health
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Contraception Behavior, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Kenya, Male, Marriage, Population Surveillance, Pregnancy, Pregnancy in Adolescence, Sexual Behavior, Sexual Partners, Single Person, Urban Population, Multivariate Analysis, Logistic Models, Proportional Hazards Models, Pregnancy, Unplanned, Young Adult
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