Sexual Behavior of Adolescents in Contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa

This book is a pan-African volume researching adolescent sexual behaviour written by an international and interdisciplinary group of scientists covering regions of sub-Saharan Africa. The book is composed of ten papers that discuss the cultural diversity of Africa, thus emphasising why local norms and values must be considered in order to successfully understand and manage emerging sexual and reproductive health issues. Various methodological approaches for studies in sexual behaviour are presented, including sample survey research, focus groups, meta-analysis, and actual HIV testing.

This study provides a picture of adolescent sexual behaviour in all regions of sub-Saharan Africa, providing a scientific resource for students and researchers dealing with these issues and a “solid scientific basis for the formulation of effective public policies”.

The book can be divided into four thematic parts:

• Studies of the determinants of risky sexual behaviour – case studies from Cameroon, South Africa and Uganda
• Studies into the linkages between HIV, contraception, modernisation and sex among adolescents – case studies from Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria and Zambia
• Reports on the association between ethnicity, nationality and sexuality – case studies from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana
• Reviews on current literature on trends and differentials associated with sexual initiation among boys and girls in sub-Saharan African countries

The book is intended for students, researchers, policy-makers, and others interested in sexual science in Africa.

The table of contents contains:

• Perceptions of the risks of sexual activity and their consequences among Ugandan adolescents
• Unsafe sexual behavior in South African youth
• HIV prevalence and socio-cultural contexts of sexuality among youth in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• Timing of first intercourse among Malian adolescents: implications for contraceptive use
• Sexual activity and contraceptive use among female adolescents: a report from Port Harcourt, Nigeria
• Modernisation and teenage sexual activity in Zambia: a multinomial logit model
• Ethnicity and sexual behavior in Ghana
• Social capital and premarital sexual activity in Africa: the case of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
• Sexual initiation among adolescent girls and boys: trends and differentials in Sub-Saharan Africa

The intended readership of this book includes students, researchers policy-makers, and all those interested in sexual science in contemporary Africa.

Click here to view the table of contents and to order this resource online.