| Abstract |
The increase in reproductive and social health issues among adolescents has been hotly debated both nationally and internationally. Every day, Malaysians are presented with news on adolescent misconduct, especially those involving cases of abortion and out -of -wedlock pregnancies. Therefore, a specific study to look at the level of reproductive and sexual health of adolescents and the factors that influence it was conducted based on the results of the national level of adolescent health research. Methodology this cross -sectional study was conducted in 2010 using secondary data from the Adolescent Health Screening Form (BSSK/R/1/2008) which was filled by trainees of the National Service Training Program (NSTP) in 80 NSTP camps throughout the country. To achieve the objectives of the study, the analysis used is descriptive analysis, chi -square test and logistic regression using SPSS software. The parameters studied included socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, ethnicity and level of education) and social characteristics (risky behavior, history of abuse, anti-social behavior, substance abuse, religion, and family relationships). While there are nine (9) SRH issues that were studied, namely masturbation, watching pornography, extramarital sex, multi -partner sex, STIs, homosexual tendencies, homosexual relationships, pregnancy and abortion. Results A total of 23,231 data were analyzed. Of these, a total of 22,750 respondents aged 18-24 years were screened for the purpose of study analysis. The results of the analysis showed that the issue of watching and reading pornographic material among adolescents recorded the highest percentage (39.5%) followed by masturbation (28.5%) and extramarital sex (6.5%). All socio -demographic factors studied had a significant relationship with extramarital sex, homosexual predisposition and abortion (p <0.05). Risk factors for extramarital sex are the age group of 20-24 years (OR = 2.710, SK95% 1.967, 3.759), risky behavior (OR = 30.495 SK95% 19.683, 47.427), involvement in substance abuse (OR = 12.33 SK95% 8,051, 18,891), anti-social (OR = 2,615 SK95% 2,206, 3,100) and ever abused (OR = 1,726 SK95% 1,389, 2,145). While the appreciation of religion is a protective factor for adolescents where the study found that adolescents who appreciate religion are twice as likely to have sex compared to adolescents who do not appreciate religion. There is no evidence to suggest that familial relationship variables influence adolescents to have sex. Conclusion overall it can be concluded that adolescent reproductive and sexual health issues need to be given serious attention. This is because the results of the study show that the trend of extramarital sex among adolescents which is a key indicator of the level of adolescent reproductive and sexual health issues has increased from 2.2% in 2004 (MPFS-4) to 6.5% in 2010. Therefore, multisectoral cooperation programs are needed to address this issue. The implementation of intervention programs should also be focused on high-risk adolescents such as having risky behaviors, anti-social and involved in cases of substance abuse. The planning and preparation of the program must also take into account the concepts and teachings of religion practiced in Malaysia through an approach that can be accepted by adolescents. Further studies need to be conducted more extensively taking into account other factors that have yet to be explored. |
