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Sierra Leone and Liberia have experienced civil wars and, recently, Ebola outbreaks that led to profound economic hardship, psychopathologies and family disruptions. These factors are associated with sexual risk behaviours among youths. However, there is very little information on sexual risk behaviour among Sierra Leonean and Liberian school-going adolescents.
The present study assessed the prevalence and determinants of sexual risk behaviours among school-going adolescents 10β19 years in Sierra Leone and Liberia. We used publicly available nationally representative cross-sectional datasets of the Sierra Leone and Liberia Global school health survey.
The sample consisted of and school-going adolescents from Sierra Leone and Liberia, respectively. Complex sample descriptive and regression analysis was used to analyse our data. The majority of adolescents in the two countries were involved in multiple sexual risk behaviour Also, in Sierra Leone and Liberia, adolescents with one and two or more forms of psychological distress were more likely to have ever had sex than those who did not show any form of psychological distress.
Our study found a high sexual risk behaviour among school-going adolescents in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Our finding highlights the need to strengthen sexual and reproductive health education in schools and communities that incorporate mental health promotion activities tailored to this group.
