A cross-sectional survey of adolescents and heads of households was done in six urban and rural local government areas in Ebonyi state, Nigeria in August 2018. Modified cluster sampling technique was used to select households from which eligible adolescent boys and girls were recruited. The two datasets describes expansively, for the first time, adolescents’ sexual and reproductive behaviours in Nigeria. The datasets include variables on adolescents’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics; family relationships; sexual behaviour; awareness and use of contraceptives; access to sexual and reproductive health information and services; gender norms and ideology about adolescent sexuality; and potential strategies for reducing unwanted teenage pregnancies and unsafe abortions. The datasets provide a template that could be replicated for national or regional surveys on adolescent sexual and reproductive behaviours.This dataset would be useful to public health researchers and social scientists investigating drivers of adolescent sexual and reproductive behaviour, as well as programme managers seeking potential strategies for improving adolescent health outcomes. The research leading to the datasets in this manuscript received funding from IDRC MENA+WA implementation research project on maternal and child health (IDRC grant number: 108677). The main aim of the project is to adapt, design, implement and evaluate an inclusive community-embedded intervention program to address unmet sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents in rural and urban areas in Ebonyi state, Nigeria. The project from which the datasets were generated is being implemented in six local government areas in Ebonyi state, Nigeria. At the first phase of the project, situational analysis was conducted using a mixed-method approach (quantitative and qualitative study method). A cross-sectional household survey was carried out among a sample of 1057 adolescents selected from 556 households in urban and rural areas. Twelve adolescent questionnaires were excluded/discarded because they were not properly matched to households, leaving 1045 for analysis. The WHO illustrative questionnaire for interview-surveys with young people was adapted and used to collect data from unmarried adolescents aged 13-18 years. Background characteristics and expenditure patterns of households were elicited using a questionnaire that had been severally used in other research projects. Fifty-four research assistants were recruited and trained for five days to administer survey questionnaires. The research assistants were trained on the rules and ethics involved in data collection. They were paired to collect data with both paper and android tablets. Electronic copies of the questionnaire were built on SurveyCTO and the survey data was collected over a period of two weeks.

The data was collected using two structured questionnaires, head of household and adolescent questionnaire. The adolescent questionnaire was adapted from WHO illustrative questionnaire for interview-surveys with young people. This questionnaire is suitable for unmarried teenagers and young people who have not entered stable co-habiting relationships. It is equally suitable for males and females, for those who are attending school and those who are not, and for sexually exposed and unexposed people. This illustrative questionnaire was designed to document knowledge, beliefs, behaviour and outcomes in the domain of sexual and reproductive health. The questionnaire was adapted to our local circumstances and priorities by rephrasing some questions, re-ordering some sections, adding more options to questions, adding new section of questions, and deleting some questions altogether. The adapted questionnaire had 7 sections namely: demographic characteristics; socioeconomic characteristics and family relationship; information on sexual and reproductive health; sexual conduct; awareness and use of contraceptives; use of sexual and reproductive health services; ideology and gender norms; and potential interventions for improving adolescent SRH (particularly for reducing unwanted teenage pregnancy and abortions). The questionnaire was reviewed by a team of experts to ensure that the subject area was sufficiently covered and that only relevant items were included. It was then pre-tested on 24 adolescents that were purposively selected to equally represent place of residence (urban and rural), gender (male and female), and schooling (attending school and not attending school). We also ensured that all the ages of interest were represented. The household questionnaire was adapted from a questionnaire developed by researchers from Health Policy Research Group University of Nigeria and Nuffield Centre for International Health & Development University of Leeds, for use in a community-based household survey. This questionnaire was recently used by Health Policy Research Group, University of Nigeria, during a community-based survey of households to collect information on background characteristics and expenditure patterns of selected households. The questionnaire was adapted to this study by inclusion of questions on household listing of adolescents and a section on potential interventions for improving adolescent SRH (particularly for reducing unwanted teenage pregnancy and abortions). The process of validation of the questionnaire is similar to that of adolescent questionnaire. It was reviewed by a team of experts and pre-tested on 4 heads of households that were purposively selected to equally represent place of residence (urban and rural) and gender (male and female). Fifty-four research assistants were recruited and trained for 5 days to enable them administer the survey instruments properly. The training of research assistants was facilitated by the principal investigator, six research fellows, and two IT/data software consultants. The objectives of the training were to get the research assistants to: a) become familiar with the overall study, b) become knowledgeable about the objectives of the survey and the study population, c) fully understand the constructs in the survey instruments, d) full understand the processes of data collection and management, e) become proficient in administering the survey instruments. The training consisted of didactic and interactive plenary sessions, and parallel group work sessions. Role plays were introduced on the third day and research assistants worked in parallel groups, alternating roles as interviewers, recorders and respondents. Their proficiency in administering the survey instruments was evaluated through actual field practice on the fourth day of training. Paper and electronic copies of questionnaires were administered to eligible heads of households and adolescents as appropriate. Electronic copies of the questionnaires were built on SurveyCTO software and uploaded to android tablets for data collection. Each respondent was surveyed by a pair of research assistants consisting of an interviewer (who asks the questions and enters responses in the electronic questionnaire) and a recorder (who records responses on the paper questionnaire).