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

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 31st 202

Community perspectives on cultural practices and belief systems influencing alcohol and drug use: a qualitative study in Anaang Community, Nigeria

Alcohol and drug use are socially sewn into cultural practices and belief systems in societies. This has been the case with Anaang community. This qualitative study examined narratives in a natural setting to gain insights on cultural practices relating to alcohol and drug use in Anaang society. The methods of study were participant observation and in-depth interview with 80 participants. The study found that some cultural activities harbour causal factors to alcohol use. Majority of participants reported using alcohol in conformity with societal norms and values. Participants differed in opinion concerning drug use. Some confessed using drugs out of personal conviction. Conversely, a good proportion of participants believed that cultural practices and belief system have either overtly or covertly lured them into drug use. Participants unanimously identified low literacy rates, ignorance and lack of effective regulatory mechanism as precursors to alcohol and drug use in local communities. This study mediated through Anaang cultural practices and belief system to derive informed insights that are needful for designing culture-sensitive-programme of preventive intervention for alcohol and drug use in local communities in Nigeria

Contraceptive Use in Nigeria: Does Social Context Matter?

Contraceptive use in Nigeria has remained low despite the efforts of government and non-governmental agencies to increase its uptake. Most studies on  contraceptive use have focused on individual-level determinants and evidence is sparse on the influence of social or community context. This study examines the influences of contextual factors on modern contraceptive use in Nigeria. We used data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, and a sample of 12,186, currently married women aged 15-49 years. Multilevel logistic regression which provides a flexible modeling for hierarchical data was used to examine the effects of contextual factors on contraceptive use. Findings revealed considerable low usage of contraception across the regions of Nigeria. Living in high and moderate ethnically diverse communities and communities that have high proportion of educated women was significantly associated with increased usage. The findings provide useful information for policy makers to consider the social milieu in which women live for effective family planning interventions. Keywords: Contraception, community, ethnic-diversity, multilevel, social milie