Assessment of Sexual Risk Behaviours among Young People Patronizing Alcoholic Beverage Selling Outlets in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Young people constitute 16% of the global population and in Benue State Nigeria, majority of them take alcohol which is one of the identified drivers of high risk sexual behaviours. However, intervention strategies at the pubs where alcoholic beverages are sold remain peripheral. This study assessed the sexual risk taking behaviours among young people who patronized alcoholic beverage selling outlets in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.Methods: A community based cross-sectional study using interviewer administered questionnaire was conducted among 273 young people sampled from 4 night clubs and 28 bars. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between alcohol use and risky sexual practices with statistical significance set at p =0.05Results: Seventy-four percent of the respondents had history of sexual intercourse with mean age of 18.2 (±3.0) years at sexual debut. Ninety eight (48.5%) had sexual intercourse within a week prior to the study, 73.8% took alcohol before the last sexual intercourse and the practice corroborates a cycle of sexual risk behaviour which include: heterosexual (100%), one-night stand (62.2%), sex without condoms (48.0%), oral sex (42.6%), sex in exchange for money (32.7%), anal sex (26.5%) and group sex (9.2%). Those who take alcohol are 8.5 times at higher risk of engaging in anal sex {(OR- 8.464) (95% CI = 2.919 – 24.53) (p= 0.0433)}.Conclusion: Policymakers working on risk taking behaviour intervention should consider night clubs and other drinking establishments in order to mitigate the effects of diseases transmitted through high risk sexual behavior among young people.