This is the second in a series of blogs about parent-child connectedness.

Recent research from eight African countries surveyed adolescents to learn rates of different high-risk behaviors, including sex at an early age.

Researchers discovered that 27.3% had experienced sexual debut before age 15. Boys and girls with sexual debut at younger than age 15 were more likely to report alcohol, tobacco and drug use, truancy, poor parental- or guardian-connectedness, sedentary behavior, having been in a physical fight and receiving a serious injury.