Abstract
Non-marital sex can cause social harm in many contexts. The present study measures the age of first non-marital sex in Iranian youth and identifies factors associated with younger age of onset. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 13 provinces of Iran in 2013 by multistage cluster sampling. A total of 3026 youth age 19–29 years old were selected and agreed to complete a questionnaire. The prevalence of non-marital sex was 16.2% and did not differ between women and men. Younger current age (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR] 2.63, 95% CI 2.27, 3.13), having tested for HIV (AHR 1.87, 95% CI 1.43, 2.45), ecstasy use (AHR 1.85, 95% CI 1.09, 3.21), and methamphetamine use (AHR 5.81, 95% CI 4.39, 7.72) were significantly associated with younger age of first non-marital sex. Determination of the age of onset and associated factors for non-marital sex can help guide effective sexual and reproductive health education, preventative programs, and mitigate harm to youth. Programs for youth should also address substance use, notably methamphetamine and ecstasy, which were strongly correlated with younger age of non-marital sex.
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