Risky sexual behavior and its association with depression, alcohol consumption and khat use among jimma university main campus regular undergraduate students

Abstract

Background- The onset of mental health problems and risky sexual behavior (RSB) reach a peak in late adolescence and young adulthood. Thus addressing the health issue of this segment of society, is a public health priority. Objective- The aim of this study was to assess risky sexual behavior and its association with depression, alcohol consumption and khat use among Jimma University main campus regular undergraduate students, Jimma, 2016 Methods- Institution based cross sectional study design was conducted .Data was collected by using pretested, structured, self-administered questionnaire adapted from different literatures. A total of 700 sampled students were included in the study. Participants were drawn by using Multi stage stratified sampling method. Data was coded, entered, and cleaned using epidata manager and client and finally exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression model were used to analyses possible confounders and Variables at p-value less than 0.05 were declared as independent predictors of risky sexual behavior. Results- The prevalence of RSB among Jimma University main campus regular undergraguate students was 30.2%. The odds of RSB was higher among those who had severe depression, (AOR (95%CI), 2.6(1.3-5.1)), than non depressed counterpart. The odds of RSB was higher among those who had probabable alcohol use disorder (AOR (95%CI), 2.9(1.4-6.1)), than their counterpart. The odds of RSB was higher among who chewed khat 2-4 times a month (AOR (95%CI), 2.8(1.1-7.7)), compared to the non chewers. Conclusion and recommendation The prevalence of RSB among Jimma University main campus regular undergraguate students was high. Having depression, probable alcohol use disorder, khat use, watching pornographic movie, not participating in religious education and having peer pressure to engage in to risky sexual behavior were independently associated with RSB, to mitigate this problems, holistic and integrated efforts including Jimma University, governmental and NGO, and the surrounding community are needed to be involved.