Ak. Blanc et Aa. Way, SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR AND CONTRACEPTIVE KNOWLEDGE AND USE AMONG ADOLESCENTSIN DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES, Studies in family planning, 29(2), 1998, pp. 106-116
This article offers an overview of sexual behavior and contraceptive k
nowledge and use among adolescent women across a large number of devel
oping countries. The results demonstrate that almost universally in su
b-Saharan Africa and in the majority of countries in other regions, th
e gap between age at first sexual intercourse and age at first marriag
e has increased across age cohorts. The predominant pattern is one in
which both age at marriage and age at first intercourse have risen, bu
t the increase in age at marriage is greater, resulting in a widening
gap. In most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, current contraceptive us
e is higher among sexually active, unmarried teens than it is among ma
rried teens, whereas in Latin America and the Caribbean, current-use l
evels are higher among married teens. The results also show that adole
scents are unlikely to use a contraceptive the first time they have se
x and are more likely than older women to experience a contraceptive f
ailure.