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Determinants of Transactional Sexual Intercourse Among Adolescents in Ekiti State, Nigeria

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Abstract

Introduction

Reducing poverty and all forms of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls and other vulnerable groups in developing societies like Nigeria requires pragmatic efforts. However, available information in the literature on the motivational factors of transactional sexual intercourse (TSI) among adolescents in Nigeria appears to be sparse. Moreover, with about 12 years left to attain the global goals (also known as the agenda 2030), many of the in-school and out-of-school adolescents engage in risky TSI. Consequently, this study examined the motivational determinants of TSI among in-school and out-of-school adolescents in Nigeria with a particular focus on Ekiti State.

Method

This study adopted a cross-sectional research design of the survey type involving quantitative methods of data collection and usage of multistage sampling technique for the selection of a total of 600 in-school (n = 400) and out-of-school adolescents (n = 200) from the three senatorial districts of Ekiti State, Nigeria, between January and March 2018. Data collated were analyzed using univariate, bivariate, and hierarchical multivariate logistic regression to identify the motivational determinants of transactional sexual behavior among adolescents in Nigeria.

Results

This study found that in-school adolescents were more motivated by affection and socioeconomic reasons. Out-of-school adolescents were significantly influenced by self-ego and peer pressure. However, TSI does not differ by the socioeconomic environment for the two adolescent groups.

Conclusion and Policy Implication

This study reveals that regrouping adolescents and studying their varied demographic characteristics is essential for designing sexual education aimed at reducing the adverse outcomes of TSI (e.g., adolescent pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections) among adolescents in Ekiti State and Nigeria at large.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Health Sciences and Technology, Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

    Temitope Joshua Adeusi

  2. Centre for Gender and Development Studies, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

    Temitope Joshua Adeusi, Kazeem Adebayo Sunmola & Oluwatoyin Olatundun Ilesanmi

  3. Department of Geography, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA

    Ayodeji Emmanuel Iyanda

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  1. Temitope Joshua Adeusi
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  2. Ayodeji Emmanuel Iyanda
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  3. Kazeem Adebayo Sunmola
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  4. Oluwatoyin Olatundun Ilesanmi
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Ayodeji Emmanuel Iyanda, Temitope Joshua Adeusi. Methodology: Ayodeji Emmanuel Iyanda. Formal analysis and investigation: Ayodeji Iyanda. Writing—original draft preparation: Ayodeji Iyanda, Temitope Adeusi. Writing—review and editing: Ayodeji Iyanda, Temitope Adeusi, Oluwatoyin Olatundun Ilesanmi, Kazeem Adebayo Sumola. Resources: Temitope Adeusi. Supervision: Oluwatoyin Olatundun Ilesanmi; Kazeem Adebayo Sumola.

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Correspondence to Ayodeji Emmanuel Iyanda.

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Adeusi, T.J., Iyanda, A.E., Sunmola, K.A. et al. Determinants of Transactional Sexual Intercourse Among Adolescents in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Sex Res Soc Policy 18, 427–439 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-020-00470-w

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