A study on Female Adolescent Reproductive Change was undertaken as part of the ongoing effort at understanding some of the problems that confront adolescents in Ghana. The study used a sample of 1828 female adolescents aged 12-24 years, 1503 of them from Cape Coast, the capital of Central Region, and 325 from Mankrong, a rural settlement in the interior of the region. The objective of the study was to examine possible changes in reproduction among female adolescents within the context of overall fertility decline in Ghana as a way of assessing the progress made in addressing adolescent reproductive health problems following the adoption of a national adolescent reproductive health policy in 1994. Specifically, the study examined age at first sex, age at first marriage, age at first pregnancy, and age at first birth. It also looked at issues pertaining to pregnancy incidence and abortion in relation to school attendance. Throughout, comparisons were made with reports from the Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys and other small-scale studies in Ghana. Overall, the study found that positive changes have occurred among female adolescents with respect to their sexual activity. Bibliogr., sum. [Journal abstract]
