This study involved 945 young people in Jamaica, ages 11 to 14, who were considered at risk of early sexual activity and pregnancy.  Three surveys and 2 sets of focus group discussions were conducted, in order to obtain information on sexual activity and young people's views about sex and pregnancy.

Jamaica

In Jamaica, as elsewhere in the Caribbean, adolescent pregnancy presents serious socioeconomic and health problems. By age 19, about 40 percent of Jamaican women have been pregnant; 85 percent of these pregnancies are unintended. Sociocultural and gender norms regarding sexual activity and childbearing have an important influence on adolescent pregnancy in Jamaica.

Research Findings

This study involved 945 young people, ages 11 to 14, who were considered at risk of early sexual activity and pregnancy. The study collected information from young adolescents between 1995 and 1997 in three surveys and two sets of focus group discussions.

• In the surveys, reported sexual activity was vastly different between boys and girls (see table, below). The dramatic differences suggest that some boys exaggerated the extent of their sexual experience, while girls may have been hesitant to reveal that they had engaged in sexual intercourse. Sociocultural norms regarding adolescent sexual behavior may have influenced boys' and girls' reporting of sexual activity.

• Among sexually experienced adolescents, the mean age at first sex was 12.4 among girls and 9.3 among boys. A girl's first sexual partner was, on average, 2.9 years older than she was, while a boy's first partner was about 1.2 years older. Sixty-five percent of girls and 30 percent of boys reported using family planning at first intercourse. The condom was the method most commonly used method.

• In focus group discussions, participants suggested a variety of reasons that young adolescents have sex. Curiosity was cited as a motivation for having sex by both girls and boys. On the other hand, almost all girls, but very few boys, mentioned that love motivates someone their age to have sex for the first time. A 13-year-old girl explained, "If she say yes, that mean she really love him, and she'll give him anything him want." Boys in all the focus groups described physical pleasure and status among peers as reasons a boy would have sex.

• Boys in the focus groups viewed loss of virginity as an important sign of manhood-something for which they would be admired. "Him would feel good 'cause him friends biggin' him up," said one boy. Girls also viewed sexual activity as a sign of adulthood, but many used words such as "sad" and "embarrassed" to describe how a girl would feel after losing her virginity.

• Young people generally held positive attitudes about family planning, and they recommended using condoms to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. However, many focus group participants doubted that a couple their age would use family planning, for various reasons. Some thought that young adolescents fail to use family planning due to lack of knowledge. Some boys and girls thought young people their age might have a hard time getting contraceptives if they needed them. "They wouldn't sell it to her 'cause she too young," predicted a 13-year-old girl.

• Cultural values also act as barriers to contraceptive use by young teens. For a girl, using family planning would indicate that she is engaging in forbidden sexual activity, something peers and parents would condemn. Some boys in the focus groups feared they would be perceived as unmanly if they used a condom, and they had heard that sex was less pleasurable with a condom.

• Both girls and boys viewed adolescent pregnancy as an unplanned and unhappy event. In one survey, only 2 percent of girls and 11 percent of boys agreed with the statement, "At my age, being a mother/father would be a good thing." In the focus groups, boys and girls also expressed negative attitudes about pregnancy among young adolescents. Girls were especially likely to view pregnancy negatively. One girl declared, "If she get pregnant, her mother a go kick her out, and the boy would a run left her." While most boys thought a boy who discovered his girlfriend was pregnant would "panic and fret," some also suggested that fathering a child would increase a boy's status among his friends.

Recommendations

The reported rates of sexual activity and low levels of knowledge about reproduction among young adolescents in this study suggest that family life education programs in Jamaica should be introduced to children before they enter puberty. Youngsters need to be well informed about reproductive health concerns before they face decisions about becoming sexually active.

Family planning providers and family life educators need to recognize that some young adolescents are already sexually active, and thus in need of family planning and other reproductive health services such as information about and treatment for STDs.

The high prevalence of reported sexual activity among boys and the attitudes they expressed both in focus groups and in the survey indicate that boys need particular attention in family life education programs. More innovative and interactive methods may be needed to reach young males, who are influenced by strong social pressures to engage in early sexual activity.

Study Details

The researchers responsible for this study include Ms. Jean Jackson, Ms. Joan Leitch, and Mrs. Amy Lee of the Fertility Management Unit of the University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica, and Dr. Elizabeth Eggleston of Family Health International. Research was supported by the Women's Studies Project at Family Health International, through a Cooperative Agreement funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development with field support from the USAID Mission in Jamaica.

Portions of this research were presented at the 1996 and 1997 annual meetings of the Population Association of America. Findings from the September 1995 survey data were published in an issue of Social and Economic Studies.