BACKGROUND: The rising prevalence of tobacco use among young individuals poses significant public health challenges, particularly in vulnerable populations such as Young Female Sex Workers (YFSWs). This demographic often faces unique psychosocial stressors that can influence their health behaviors, including substance use. Understanding the interplay between tobacco use and various factors such as delinquent behavior, wellbeing, and family dynamics is crucial for developing effective interventions. This study aims to explore these relationships within a specific context in Oyo State, Nigeria.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 37 brothels in 10 randomly selected local governments in Oyo State. All consenting 216 YFSWs between the age of 18-24 years were purposively selected and interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire to collect information on tobacco use, delinquent behaviour, wellbeing, general perception of tobacco use, and family dynamics. Pearson product moment correlation, and multiple regression were used to test the hypotheses formulated at 0.05 level of significance.
RESULTS: The result showed that there exists a significant relationship between tobacco use and delinquent behaviour (r = .663, p<0.05), wellbeing (r=.712, p<0.05), family dynamics (r= .349, p<0.05). Delinquent behaviour, wellbeing, and family dynamics jointly have positive effects on tobacco use among respondents (r= .739, p<0.05); delinquent behaviour (β = .177, p<.05), wellbeing (β = .517, p<.05), and family dynamics (β = .176, p<.05) relatively contributed to tobacco use among adolescents.
CONCLUSIONS: This study underscores the significant relationships between tobacco use, delinquent behavior, wellbeing, and family dynamics among Young Female Sex Workers (YFSWs) in Oyo State. The findings reveal that tobacco use is not merely a standalone issue but is intricately linked to broader psychosocial factors that affect the lives of these young women.