Patterns of Risky Sexual Behaviors and Associated Factors among Youths and Adolescents in Vietnam

Ha Ngoc Do, Diep Ngoc Nguyen, Hoa Quynh Thi Nguyen, Anh Tuan Nguyen, Hiep Duy Nguyen, Thanh Phuong Bui, Thao Bich Thi Vu, Khiet Thanh Le, Dung Tuan Nguyen, Cuong Tat Nguyen, Linh Gia Vu, Giang Thu Vu, Bach Xuan Tran, Carl A. Latkin, Roger C. M. Ho and Cyrus S. H. Ho
Additional contact information
Ha Ngoc Do: Youth Research Institute, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Diep Ngoc Nguyen: Institute for Global Health Innovations, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
Hoa Quynh Thi Nguyen: Department of Research on Youth Culture and Lifestyle, Youth Research Institute, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Anh Tuan Nguyen: Department of Research on Youth Culture and Lifestyle, Youth Research Institute, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Hiep Duy Nguyen: Department of Research on Children’s issues, Youth Research Institute, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Thanh Phuong Bui: Department of Research on Children’s issues, Youth Research Institute, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Thao Bich Thi Vu: Department of Research on Youth’s Organisations and Youth Campaign, Youth Research Institute, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Khiet Thanh Le: Department of Research on Youth’s Organisations and Youth Campaign, Youth Research Institute, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Dung Tuan Nguyen: Department of Research on Youth and Legal issues, Youth Research Institute, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Cuong Tat Nguyen: Institute for Global Health Innovations, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
Linh Gia Vu: Center of Excellence in Evidence-based Medicine, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
Giang Thu Vu: Center of Excellence in Evidence-based Medicine, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
Bach Xuan Tran: Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Carl A. Latkin: Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Roger C. M. Ho: Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore
Cyrus S. H. Ho: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore 119074, Singapore

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: Youths and adolescents are vulnerable to HIV/STIs from unprotected sex. Promotion of young population’s awareness about risky sexual behaviors is essential to develop contextualized interventions. A cross-sectional study was conducted in five Vietnamese provinces to document current attitudes and practices regarding sexual behaviors among youths. The information on sociodemographic characteristics, substance use, and sexual behaviors was collected via self-reported questionnaires. The factors associated with risky sexual behaviors were identified by the multivariate logistic regression. Among the 1200 participants, 73.5% reported having sex in their lifetime, and 48.1% used condoms at their latest sexual intercourse. Participants in urban areas were more likely not to intend to use condoms and had a higher unintended pregnancy rate than in rural areas. Older age was positively associated with not wanting to use and not using condoms. Substance-using participants were more likely to not use condoms. The participants taking alcohol or other stimulants before sex had a higher likelihood of unintended pregnancy. Respondents’ attitudes and practices regarding sexual behaviors were associated with gender and employment. This study indicated that young population’s awareness in Vietnam is high, however, risky sexual behaviors also remain common. Sex-related educational programs about the consequences of substance use, multiple sex partners, and unprotected sex should be developed.

Keywords: risky sexual behaviors; adolescents; youths; condom use; alcohol; unintended pregnancy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/6/1903/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/6/1903/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:6:p:1903-:d:332700

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().