Life skills as predictors of risky sexual behaviors among primary school adolescents in Tanzania

OBJECTIVES: Risky sexual behaviors among adolescents contribute to early pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and school dropouts, posing significant public health concerns in Tanzania. Therefore, the study examined the influence of life skills on risky sexual behaviors among primary school adolescents. DESIGN: The study employed a cross-sectional survey design. SETTING: The study was conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania among primary school adolescents aged 10-16 from class V to VII. METHODS: The study recruited four hundred (400) adolescents who completed a self-administered questionnaire comprising self-awareness and decision-making items adapted from the Life Skills Assessment Scale (Subasree et al., 2014) and risky sexual behavior items from literatures. The tool was pilot tested, with validity established through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and reliability confirmed using Cronbach's alpha. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: Findings indicated that 59% of adolescents had high self-awareness levels, 56% demonstrated low decision-making skills whereas the prevalence of risky sexual behaviors was low (14%). Although self-awareness (OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.43, 1.54, p = .53) and decision-making (OR = 1.04, 95% CI 0.55, 1.97, p = .90) were not significant predictors, the odds ratios suggest that higher self-awareness tended to reduce risk, while weaker decision-making may increase vulnerability. Age (OR = 1.88, 95% CI 1.04, 3.43, p = .038) and gender (OR = 0.21, 95% CI 0.11, 0.42, p = .000) remained significant. CONCLUSIONS: The findings underscore the importance of integrating life skills education into the primary school curriculum to enhance adolescents' abilities to make safer sexual decisions, reduce risky sexual behaviors, prevent unwanted pregnancies, and support evidence-based educational practices for adolescent sexual health.