Magnitude of Premarital Sex and Associated Factors among Preparatory School Students in Alamata Town, North Ethiopia, 2014

Abstract

Worldwide adolescents, both boys and girls, are physically mature earlier and the age at which people marry is rising. These leave a widening of gap time during which adolescents can potentially engage in unprotected and unsafe premarital sex. The purpose of this study was to assess the magnitude of premarital sex and associated factors among Alamata preparatory school students, Northern Ethiopia. A school-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in Alamata town preparatory school students from May to June 2014. Data were collected from 230 students using self-administered structured questionnaire. Study subjects were selected using stratified sampling technique. After completion of data collection, editing, coding data entry and cleaning was done by using Epi-Info version 3.5.4. Analysis was done using SPSS version 21 and frequency tables, cross tabs, bar graphs and pie charts, bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions (Crude Odds Ratio [COR] and Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]) were done. Among the respondents, 101 (43.9%) reported ever having sexual intercourse before marriage. The mean age at first sexual intercourse was 17.39±1.5 years. Among the sexual variables, having a girlfriend or boyfriend [AOR; 7.77, 95% CI (4.15, 14.55)] and exposure to pornographic videos [AOR; 8.35, 95% CI (4.25, 11.34)]; and from the behavioral variables, drinking alcoholic beverages [AOR; 2.18, 95% CI (1.15, 4.16)] and chewing khat [AOR; 4.66, 95% CI (1.50, 14.50)] were found to have significant association with premarital sex. Large percentage of the students were engaged in premarital sexual practice. Students were found to start premarital sexual practice at an earlier age. We can also conclude that chewing khat, drinking alcohol, exposure to pornographic videos and having boyfriend or girlfriend can increase the likelihood of premarital sexual initiation of the students. It is therefore recommended that the concerned bodies should intervene among adolescents on prevention of substance abuse and risky sexual behavior.  

Keywords: Adolescents, premarital sex, early sexual initiation, risky sexual behavior 

Cite this Article: Abay M, Endgashet S, Etana B et al. Magnitude of Premarital Sex and Associated Factors among Preparatory School Students in Alamata Town, North Ethiopia, 2014. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Health Professions. 2016; 6(2): 12–20p.