BACKGROUND Sexual abstinence is a key component of the strategy to address unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and HIV among youth in sub-Sahara Africa. But contextual pressures make abstaining from sex a formidable task for urban poor youth in the sub-region. Nevertheless, some youth in these settings still manage to resist the pressure to initiate sex early, while others choose abstinence after an initial sexual debut. Few studies in the sub-region have examined sexual abstinence among urban poor youth. We therefore examined the factors that predict primary and secondary sexual abstinence among youth in urban poor Accra. The findings highlight the protective factors associated with sexual intercourse and should help to address the needs of youth at risk of unprotected sex. METHODS The study analysed pooled data from two rounds of the Urban Health and Poverty Survey. The surveys analysed were conducted in 2011 and 2013. The analysis was restricted to unmarried youth between age 20 and 24 years. The total sample comprised 235 female and male youth. We conducted multinomial logistic regression analysis to examine the predictors of primary and secondary abstinence relative to current sexual intercourse. RESULTS The results showed that being female, sexual communication with only fathers, sexual communication with only friends and slum residence were negatively associated with primary sexual abstinence. Contrarily, being in school, attaching importance to religion, residing in a household that received social support and sexual communication with both parents were positively associated with primary abstinence. Regarding secondary abstinence, only the sexual communication variables had significant effects. Sexual communication with both parents positively predicted secondary abstinence while communication with fathers-only and friends-only had a negative effect. CONCLUSION Sexual abstinence is predicted by factors which range from individual through household factors to the locality of residence. Despite the importance of all the predictors, the study found that sexual communication with both parents was the only factor that predicted a higher likelihood of both primary and secondary sexual abstinence. We therefore recommend sexual communication between parents and youth as a key strategy for promoting sexual abstinence among urban poor youth in Accra, Ghana.

中文翻译：

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加纳城市穷人阿克拉的未婚青年中主要和次要性节欲的预测指标。

背景技术禁欲是解决撒哈拉以南非洲年轻人中意外怀孕，性传播感染和艾滋病毒的战略的关键组成部分。但是，环境压力使放弃性行为成为该次区域城市贫困青年的艰巨任务。然而，在这些环境中的一些年轻人仍然能够抵御尽早开始性行为的压力，而其他年轻人在初次性行为首次出现后就选择了节制。该次区域的研究很少研究城市贫困青年的性节欲。因此，我们研究了预测城市贫困阿克拉年轻人中主要和次要性节欲的因素。研究结果强调了性交相关的保护因素，应有助于解决处于未保护性行为风险中的青年的需求。方法该研究分析了两轮城市卫生与贫困调查的汇总数据。分析的调查于2011年和2013年进行。分析仅限于20至24岁之间的未婚青年。总样本包括235名男女青年。我们进行了多项Logistic回归分析，以检验与当前性交相关的主要和次要禁欲的预测因素。结果结果显示，女性，与父亲的唯一性交，与朋友的唯一性交和贫民窟居住与原发性禁欲呈负相关。相反，在学校里，重视宗教，居住在一个得到社会支持和与父母双方进行性交的家庭中，与初次节欲正相关。关于第二禁欲，只有性交变量具有显着影响。与父母双方的性交积极地预测了第二天的禁欲，而仅与父亲和朋友的交往产生了负面影响。结论性戒欲是由个人因素，家庭因素到居住地点等因素预测的。尽管所有预测因素都很重要，但该研究发现与父母双方的性交是唯一预测发生第一次和第二次性禁欲的可能性的因素。因此，我们建议父母与青年之间的性交流是在加纳阿克拉的城市贫困青年中促进节欲的一项重要策略。与父母双方的性交积极地预测了第二天的禁欲，而仅与父亲和朋友的交往产生了负面影响。结论性戒欲是由个人因素，家庭因素到居住地点等因素预测的。尽管所有预测因素都很重要，但该研究发现与父母双方的性交是唯一预测发生第一次和第二次性禁欲的可能性的因素。因此，我们建议父母与青年之间的性交流是在加纳阿克拉的城市贫困青年中促进节欲的一项重要策略。与父母双方的性交积极地预测了第二天的禁欲，而仅与父亲和朋友的交往产生了负面影响。结论性戒欲是由个人因素，家庭因素到居住地点等因素预测的。尽管所有预测因素都很重要，但该研究发现与父母双方的性交是唯一预测发生第一次和第二次性禁欲的可能性的因素。因此，我们建议父母与青年之间的性交流是在加纳阿克拉的城市贫困青年中促进节欲的一项重要策略。结论性戒欲是由个人因素，家庭因素到居住地点等因素预测的。尽管所有预测因素都很重要，但该研究发现与父母双方的性交是唯一预测发生第一次和第二次性禁欲的可能性的因素。因此，我们建议父母与青年之间的性交流是在加纳阿克拉的城市贫困青年中促进节欲的一项重要策略。结论性戒欲是由个人因素，家庭因素到居住地点等因素预测的。尽管所有预测因素都很重要，但该研究发现与父母双方的性交是唯一预测发生第一次和第二次性禁欲的可能性的因素。因此，我们建议父母与青年之间的性交流是在加纳阿克拉的城市贫困青年中促进节欲的一项重要策略。