PEER INFLUENCES TO RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOURS AMONG OUT-OF-SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS IN KAMULI MUNICIPALITY

Introduction: Adolescents engage in different deviant behaviours including gambling, alcohol and substance abuse, violence acts and sexual behaviours. These sexual behaviours have lasting reproductive health challenges, increased risks of acquiring sexually transmitted infections (including HIV), teenage pregnancies and death among adolescents which contribute to the burdens of public health care.
Purpose: To identify risky sexual behaviours among out-of-school adolescents and peer influences to out-of-school adolescent engagement in risky sexual behaviours in Kamuli Municipality.
Methods: The study was conducted in Kamuli Municipality (Southern and Northern Division) among out-of-school adolescents. The study adopted phenomenological study design and purposive sampling adopted as sampling procedures for the study. Sample size included five (5) Focus group discussions, twenty (20) In-depth interviews and three (3) Key informant interviews upon which saturation was attained. Study respondents comprised of out-of-school adolescents between 10 and 19 years of age living within Kamuli Municipality; not in school and did not complete primary or secondary education levels. The study comprised of sixty-seven (67) respondents (forty-four (44) respondents that participated in the focus group discussions; twenty (20) respondents that participated in in-depth interviews and three (3) key informant interviews).
Results: Study findings identified involvement in sexual relations with boyfriends and girlfriends; sexual affairs with older persons (referred to as sugar mummies and sugar daddy); involvement in multiple sexual relations; transactional sex and early sexual debut as risky sexual behaviours among out-of-school adolescents. In terms of socio-economic factors for out-of-school adolescent engagement in risky sexual behaviours, respondents mentioned poverty at home and lack of basic necessities as key factors increasing vulnerability to engage in risky sexual behaviours. Peer influence to engage in risky sexual behaviours ranged from misleading influence from friends, desire to please friends, peer pressure and bad company; which all in different ways mounted pressure to engage in different risky behaviours.
Conclusions: Study findings confirmed the existence of risky sexual behaviours among out-of-school adolescents (including early sexual debut, multiple sexual partners and sex with older sexual partners). Out-of-school adolescent engagement in risky sexual behaviours is strongly influenced by their close associate peers and friends; coupled with the prevailing circumstances at the time of exposure.

Keywords
Peer influences; Risky sexual behaviours; Early sexual debut; Adolescents