Social meanings of contraceptives and its influence on youth sexual behaviours: A case study of the Youth in Moi University, Kenya

Abstract

Youth comprise of a large population globally but their sexual reproductive health needs still remain unmet with contraceptives being among these unmet needs. This non use of contraceptives among a sexually active population has left many exposed to high HIV/AIDS infection, early pregnancies and high abortion rates which have had a negative effect on their health and socio-economic development. The exposure of young people to the afore mentioned vices becomes a matter of public health concern as it is rooted in human behavior. Guided by the social construction theory the study investigated the social meanings of contraceptives and how these influence their sexual behavior. It specifically examined the social meaning that the youth have on contraceptives, and analyzed how these meanings influence sexual behavior. This was a qualitative research and data was collected from 60 youth aged between 18- 35, through the method of saturation. The 60 were sampled through convenience, chance and snowball sampling. Using In-depth interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions as the main methods for data collection, detailed data was collected, categorized, transcribed then thematically analyzed. The study found that the youth had various meanings to contraceptives, with meanings ranging from contraceptives as being a prevention tool, a planning tool, a power tool, a sexual thrill minimize, a material determinant, a social stigma, as a sign of distrust, as insurance, to a license for enjoyment, among others. These meanings were found to have an influence on the youth‘s sexual behavior causing the youth to engage in protected sex, unprotected sex, have multiple partners, and engage in random/casual sexual encounters to having transactional relations. The study recommends that there is need for policy makers to understand these noted perceptions and create safe spaces for young people to explore matters of sexuality. Governments can also use these perceptions to build policies that will enable access of contraception to be informed and unbiased especially in the inclusion of these sentiments in the Reproductive health care bill (2019) on the reproductive health of adolescents.