Risky sexual behaviour among young women: lessons for local policy makers on reproductive health programmes in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper investigated risky sexual behavior and unwanted pregnancy with a view to assisting local policy makers in designing reproductive health  programmes to stem the menace of risky sexual behaviours among young girls in Nigeria. This study made use of secondary source of data collection.  The data was obtained from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) data set of 2013. The 2013 NDHS sample was selected using stratified  three-stage cluster design consisting of 904 clusters, 372 in urban areas and 532 in rural areas. Results of the bivariate analysis reveals that there is no  significant relationship between risky sexual behaviour and unwanted pregnancy; multiple sexual partner (X²= 0.211, p>0.05), use of condom during sex (X² = 2.6254, p>0.05); age at sex initiation (X² = 2.1761, p>0.05). This paper recommended that efforts should be made by local policy makers to reduce  the prevalence of unwanted pregnancy among young girls by improving the quality of life, curbing inequality and women endangerment.