Teenage Pregnancy and Its Associated Factors among School Adolescents of Arba Minch Town, Southern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Teenage pregnancy has long been a worldwide social, economic and educational concern for the developed, developing and underdeveloped countries. Studies on adolescent sexuality and pregnancy are very limited in our country. Therefore, this study aims to assess the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and its associated factors among school adolescents of Arba Minch Town. METHODS: Institution-based, cross-sectional study was conducted from 20–30 March 2014. Systematic sampling technique was used to select a total of 578 students from four schools of the town. Data were collected by trained data collectors using a pre-tested, self-administered structured questionnaire. Analysis was made using SPSS version 20.0 statistical packages. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of teenage pregnancy. RESULTS: The prevalence of teenage pregnancy among school adolescents of Arba Minch Town was 7.7%. Being grade 11 student (AOR=4.6;95%CI:1.4,9.3), grade 12 students (AOR=5.8;95% CI:1.3,14.4), not knowing the exact time to take emergency contraceptives (AOR=3.3;95%CI:1.4,7.4), substance use (AOR=3.1;95%CI:1.1,8.8), living with either of biological parents (AOR=3.3;95%CI:1.1,8.7) and poor parent-daughter interaction (AOR=3.1;95%CI:1.1,8.7) were found to be significant predictors of teenage pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed high level of teenage pregnancy among school adolescents of Arba Minch Town. A significant number of adolescent female students were at risk of facing the challenges of teenage pregnancy in the study area. School-based reproductive health education and strong parent-daughter relationships are recommended.