Determinants of Adolescent Sexual Behaviour in Indonesia during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review

Abstract

A high pre-marital sexual behaviour with a correspondingly high pregnancy rate was observed amongst teenagers in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic. This phenomenon was caused by several factors which include, a decrease in the utilization of reproductive health services, inadequate information on appropriate sexual behaviour before marriage, work from home and the Pembelajaran Jarak Jauh/ distance learning policies which increased the use of internet and exposure to pornography. This study aimed to identify the determinant factors associated with adolescent pre-marital sexual behaviour in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The method involved the use of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews by searching for relevant articles through ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, PubMed and Garuda (Garba Rujukan Digital) Portal. Twenty-one (21) articles were analysed in this study. The results showed that knowledge about reproductive health, or more specifically pre-marital sexual behaviour, was related to pre-marital sexual behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, attitudes, communication media, peers and family were also related to adolescent pre-marital sexual behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, it is necessary to prevent pre-marital sexual behaviour through health promotion to improve adolescent knowledge and attitudes, use of the latest communication media and increase in the role of peer educators and parents.