Background

Measures to mitigate COVID-19's impact may inhibit development of healthy youth relationships, affecting partnership quality and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes.

Methods

We conducted a mixed-methods study to understand how COVID-19 affected girls' and young women's relationships in Kenya. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression examined factors associated with relationship quality dynamics and SRH outcomes among 756 partnered adolescents aged 15–24 years. Qualitative data from in-depth interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis to explore youth perceptions of how intimate relationships changed during COVID-19.

Results

Nearly three-quarters of youth described changes in relationship quality since COVID-19 began, with 24% reporting worsening. Reduced time with partners was the strongest predictor of changed relationship quality. Youth experiencing complete or partial COVID-19-related household income loss had heightened risk of deteriorating partnerships (relative risk ratio = 2.43 and 2.02; p < .05); those whose relationships worsened were more likely to experience recent intimate partner violence, relative to no relationship change (20.8% vs. 3.5%; p < .001). Qualitative analysis revealed how COVID-19 mitigation measures hindered intimate relationships, school closures accelerated marriage timelines, and economic hardships strained relationships, while increasing early pregnancy risk and girls' financial dependency on their partners.

Conclusions

COVID-19 disrupted adolescent girls' and young women's romantic relationships, depriving some of partner emotional support and exposing others to sexual violence, early pregnancy, and economically motivated transactional relationships. Increased social support systems, including access to psychosocial services, are needed in low-income communities in Kilifi, Kisumu, and Nairobi, in particular the informal settlement areas, to mitigate COVID-19's consequences on girls' SRH.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 时代的青年关系：肯尼亚少女和年轻女性的混合方法研究

背景

减轻 COVID-19 影响的措施可能会抑制健康青年关系的发展，影响伙伴关系质量以及性与生殖健康 (SRH) 结果。

方法

我们进行了一项混合方法研究，以了解 COVID-19 如何影响肯尼亚的女孩和年轻女性的关系。双变量和多变量逻辑回归检查了与 756 名 15-24 岁青少年的关系质量动态和 SRH 结果相关的因素。使用归纳主题分析法分析了深度访谈的定性数据，以探索青年对 COVID-19 期间亲密关系如何变化的看法。

结果

近四分之三的年轻人描述了自 COVID-19 开始以来关系质量的变化，其中 24% 的人报告情况恶化。减少与伴侣相处的时间是关系质量变化的最强预测因素。经历完全或部分与 COVID-19 相关的家庭收入损失的青年增加了伙伴关系恶化的风险（相对风险比 = 2.43 和 2.02；p < .05）；与没有关系变化相比，那些关系恶化的人更有可能经历最近的亲密伴侣暴力（20.8% 对 3.5%；p< .001）。定性分析揭示了 COVID-19 缓解措施如何阻碍亲密关系、学校停课加快了婚姻时间表、经济困难使关系紧张，同时增加了早孕风险和女孩对伴侣的经济依赖。

结论

COVID-19 扰乱了少女和年轻女性的浪漫关系，剥夺了一些伴侣的情感支持，并使其他人暴露于性暴力、早孕和以经济为动机的交易关系中。基利菲、基苏木和内罗毕的低收入社区，尤其是非正式定居区，需要增加社会支持系统，包括获得心理社会服务的机会，以减轻 COVID-19 对女孩 SRH 的影响。