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Ethnic affiliation and protective sexual behaviours among youth in Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2024

Oluwaseyi Dolapo Somefun Open the ORCID record for Oluwaseyi Dolapo Somefun [Opens in a new window]  and
Funke Fayehun
Oluwaseyi Dolapo Somefun*
Affiliation:
University of Pretoria, Faculty of Education, Pretoria, South Africa
Funke Fayehun
Affiliation:
University of Ibadan, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology, Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria
*
Corresponding author: Oluwaseyi Dolapo Somefun; Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Investing in the sexual and reproductive health of young adults can directly and indirectly contribute to accelerated economic growth. Looking beyond individual determinants of sexual behaviours and focusing on cultural factors such as ethnic affiliation are crucial for interventions and programme planning, particularly in a context like Nigeria. Using a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods design, this article explores the associations between ethnic affiliations and protective sexual behaviours of young adults in Nigeria. The quantitative data was derived from a representative sample of 1,393 male and female youth aged 16–24 years in three states purposively selected from three regions in Nigeria, while qualitative data was based on 18 focus groups and 36 in-depth interviews. The quantitative data was analysed using frequency distributions and regressions, while content analysis was employed to analyse qualitative data. Descriptive results showed that abstinence was higher for Hausa (80%) young adults compared with Yoruba (72%) and Igbo (68%) young adults. Condom use was lowest for Hausa (56%) young adults compared with Igbo (80%) and Yoruba (81%) young adults. The effect of education on abstinence differed by ethnicity and living with two parents was associated with a higher likelihood of abstinence among youth in all ethnic groups. Fear of early fatherhood and unplanned pregnancy was a prominent reason for protective sexual behaviour among Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa young adults. The findings from this study show that young adults who engage in protective sexual behaviours may identify different rationales for this behaviour based on their ethnic background. Programme planners interested in promoting and encouraging protective sexual behaviours should recognize these multiple reasons across different ethnic affiliations to scale up and sustain existing interventions.

Keywords

EthnicitycultureyouthgendersexualbehaviourNigeria
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 56 , Issue 4 , July 2024 , pp. 767 - 783
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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