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Abstract:
Adolescence is a period of transition from
childhood to adulthood when many behaviors
and events set the stage for adult health.
Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data are
often used to describe adolescents
age 15-19 but are infrequently used to
examine younger adolescents age 10-14. This
study employs retrospective data from women
and men age 15-24—the most recent cohort that
experienced adolescence in the 5 years
preceding the survey—to investigate health
outcomes during the full range of adolescent
years from age 10-19. For 52 countries, this
study compiles adolescent sexual and
reproductive health indicators in the areas
of marriage, sexual activity, contraceptive
use, fertility, maternal health, and
genderbased violence. We find marriage among
women occurs during adolescence in most
countries in West and East Africa
while men marry after adolescence. Except for
South and Southeast Asia, sexual debut occurs
during adolescence for men and women.
Contraceptive use is rare during early
adolescence (except in some Latin American
countries) but increases with age to about
20% among women age 15-19. Age-specific
fertility rates are imperceptible among the
youngest adolescents; even in the country
with the highest early fertility rates
(Mali), there are only 17 births per 1,000
women age 10-14. The earliest detectable
adolescent fertility occurs at age 13-14 in
Mali, Bangladesh, Angola, and Gabon. Overall,
roughly 20% of women began childbearing
before age 20. Over half of all adolescent
women in Chad and Niger, and over half of
evermarried adolescent women in Afghanistan
and Bangladesh have begun childbearing, which
is concerning given these countries
demonstrated some of the lowest use of
maternal health care. Physical violence
during
adolescence ranges from around 6% (Kyrgyz
Republic) to 53% (Uganda); the experience of
sexual violence similarly varies. These
retrospective data provide useful insights on
very young adolescents and reveal
reproductive events rarely occur prior to age
15.
Sexual and Reproductive Health in Early and Later Adolescence: DHS Data on Youth Age 10-19 (PDF, 5579K)