Factors Associated With Teenage Pregnancy in Northern Uganda
Abstract
Adolescence is a physical and psychological transitional stage from child hood to adulthood. This research report addresses the factors associated with teenage pregnancy in northern Uganda and it was based on the following objectives; to determine the socio-economic factors associated with teenage pregnancy, to examine the demographic characteristics associated with teenage pregnancies and to determine the relationship between teenage pregnancy and knowledge about sexual and reproductive health. The researcher used secondary data for DHS 2016 specifically the female data set to examine the factors associated with teenage pregnancy in Northern Uganda.
At bivariate level, factors that were significantly associated with teenage pregnancy were age of respondents, marital status, age at first sex and wealth status. Results showed that teenage pregnancies were high among the poorest compared to the richest, those who had sex at an early age, those who resided in rural areas and those who married early were more likely to become pregnant. And factors that were insignificantly associated with teenage pregnancy, place of residence, religion, knowledge on contraceptive use and educational level.
Furthermore factors associated with teenage pregnancy include level of education, age at first sex, place of residence, wealth status, early marriage, alcohol usage and many others. The researcher recommended that education of the girl child should be encouraged and strict policies against early marriage should be enacted