Abstract
Early adolescent sexual activity remains a recurring problem with negative psychosocial and health outcomes. The age at sexual debut varies from place to place and among different individuals and is associated with varying factors. The aim was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of early sexual debut among secondary school students in Ido-Ekiti, South-West Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study. The respondents were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. Pre-tested, semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 15. More than two-thirds, 40(67.8%), had early sexual debut. The prevalence of early sexual debut was about 11%. The mean age of sexual debut was 13.10±2.82; the mean age for early sexual debutants was 11.68±1.98. The mean number of sexual partners was 2.44±1.99. Male gender, having friends who engaged in sexual activities had association with early sexual exposure (p<0.05). Alcohol intake had the strongest strength of association for early sexual debut among the students. The high prevalence of early sexual exposure among the students calls for urgent interventions to stem the trend. This will help to reduce the devastating negative psycho-social and health sequels.
Highlights
Adolescent sexual activity remains a recurring problem with negative psychosocial and health outcomes
The mean age of respondents in this study was 14.95±1.73. This was not surprising as the mean age fell within the recognized school age of 5-15 years and besides our study population was secondary school students. This was lower than the mean age obtained in a similar study in Ethiopia with a mean age of 19.4±2.7.13 Though, in the two studies, more than half of the respondents were in the age group 15-19 years, the difference in the mean age could be due to the fact that the Ethiopian study was among youths while this study focused on secondary school students
The difference between the Ethiopia study and this study could be due to the fact that this study was among in-school adolescents while the one in Ethiopia was conducted among youth
Summary
The mean age of the respondents was 14.95±1.73. Half of the students were males and more than three-quarters, 323(88.5%), were Christians. As seen, more than three-quarters of the respondents had their mothers and fathers alive. While about a third of them had fathers with tertiary education, about half of them had mothers with tertiary education
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