Abstract:
Background: Globally, adolescent pregnancy is a public health concern. Early parenting has been found to be associated with increased risk of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality and violates the rights of girls worldwide. In Rwanda, adolescent pregnancy has increased from 4.1% in 2005 to 7.3% in 2015.
Aim: To determine the perceptions of adolescents 15-19 years of age on how their lives would change if they experienced a teen birth.
Methods: This was a non-experimental, cross-sectional study. A proportionate stratified random sampling technique was used to select study respondents. Data were collected from 245 adolescents aged 15 to 19 years attending the two selected secondary schools of Rwanda and analysed by SPSS Version 20. Bivariate and logistic regression models were used to determine the association of variables with perceptions of adolescent parenting. Data from descriptive and inferential statistics were presented in tables.
Results: The analysis of the findings revealed the positive perceptions of adolescents parenting among high school adolescent students from selected rural and urban schools in Rwanda. The response rate was at 100% and the bivariate analysis showed a statistical association between gender, attendance to church and pregnant status with perceptions of an adolescent. The majority of females had negative perceptions while the majority of males presented positive perceptions regarding adolescent parenting. In addition, adolescents that did not attend any spiritual or religious groups at least once per month had more positive perceptions compared to those that attend. The perceptions of all adolescents that confirmed to be pregnant during this study were positive toward teen parenting. This study indicated that there was a strong statistical association between adolescents who had sexual intercourse and the positive perceptions of adolescents parenting among high school adolescent students. However, multivariate analysis showed gender as the only variable with statistical significance.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that there is a need to strengthen the sexual health education programs in secondary schools to raise adolescents’ awareness of sexual and reproductive health. Health facilities should facilitate adolescents to easily afford contraceptive methods as part of health services delivered.
