CATALYSTS
The study lists HIV as another risk factor. Young people know about condoms but only a fraction of them know about HIV and Aids.
Some of the factors that lead to teenagers experimenting with sex include exposure to sexual content in media.
Researchers in 2009 found that teenagers who preferred popular songs with degrading sexual references were more likely to engage in intercourse or in pre-coital activities.
Other factors are peer pressure, lack of access to reproductive health services and information and greater access to sexual content through mobile phones.
Also, lack of proper sex education and not being taught about contraception makes them less likely to use them.
SOLUTION
Rev Peter Karanja, the secretary-general of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, said these worrying trends can be addressed through parental intervention.
“Parents should spend a little more time with their children to teach them, to correct them and to hold them to account for their actions.
“A system that seems to be working for some families is when one or both parents take some leave days when their children close schools and spend that time with them and instil in them some adult wisdom,” he said.