Determinants of Adolescent Childbearing in Oghara Kingdom, Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

Teenage pregnancy is an important health and Social problem in Nigeria. The study investigated the prevalence rate and the socio-economic factors that place adolescents at the high risk of early pregnancy in Oghara Kingdom. The respondents were 400 teenagers under 19years of age randomly selected from some villages in the two sub-clans of the kingdom. A structured interview schedule was used to obtain information used in the study. Frequencies, percentages and chi-square tests were used to analyse the data. The results of the study showed that the rate of teenage pregnancy in the study area was fairly high (66.2 percent). A large majority (87.3 percent) of the teenage pregnancies in the study area were unintended. Chi-square tests revealed associations between teenage pregnancy and respondents’ education, sexual initiation, use of family planning, parents’ wealth quintiles, wealth quintile of the person responsible for the pregnancy and place of abode before the pregnancy. Keywords: Teenage pregnancy, Oghara Kingdom, Socio-economic factors, Nigeria DOI : 10.7176/JCSD/55-03 Publication date: January 31 st 2020