Sex Negotiation Skills and Factors that Affect the Choice of Skills used by Female Adolescents in the Ga East Municipality in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

Abstract

Background: Adolescence (from 10 to 19 years of age) is an integral stage of human life, which transits a person from childhood into adulthood. During this phase, the individual may portray certain individual traits of adulthood whiles still a child hence exposing them to some risks and challenges. An adolescent who has gone through a comprehensive sex education that includes sex refusal and sex negotiation skills is not likely to experience pregnancy as compared to those who are educated on abstinence-only. It is imperative for adolescents who are not ready for sex to practice refusal skills. This is because there are adult’s behaviours that an adolescent can exhibit such as sexual expression and fulfilment. This study sought to find out from in-school young adolescent females, aged 12- 26 years in the Ga East Municipal of the Greater Accra Region, what sex negotiation skills they practice as well as the factors that influence their sexual choices. Methods: A cross-sectional study was used to solicit the responses. Two hundred and seventeen respondents were selected for the study. Result: The mean age of the respondent was 17 years. In addition, 82% of the respondent had sex without using condoms. The result showed that there was an association between level of education and contraceptive use (p=0.020). Again, about 80% of the respondents were of the view that using verbal communication skills during sex negotiation is the best. According to them, this will help the two parties come to a mutual agreement. About 50.23% said they were pushed into having sex while 56.52% said they were both threatened and forced into sexual activities Conclusion: "Talking skills" (92%) was the key negotiations kills used by the respondents. However, 81% preferred using body gesture such as facial expression to demand sex from the opposite sex.