Sexual Activity, Family Life Education, and Contraceptive Practice Among Young Adults in Banjul, The Gambia

This report presents results from a 1986-87 two-stage probability sample survey of 2,507 young men and women aged 14-24 living in the Greater Banjul region of The Gambia. Although premarital sexual activity was common and began at an early age, lack of knowledge and limited access to modern contraceptives were obstacles to the use of family planning. Of all ever sexually active single persons, only 21 percent of the young women and 7 percent of the young men had practiced contraception at the time of first intercourse. Almost half of the sexually active young adults had ever used contraceptives, with oral contraceptives and condoms being the methods most widely known and used. Results of logistic regression analyses show that attendance at family life education lectures in school had significant positive relationships to both knowledge and use of contraceptives among the young people surveyed. The study presents encouraging evidence that acceptance of modern contraceptive use is beginning to take hold among young people in urban Banjul.