Timing Of Sexual Debut Research Articles

Does timing of sexual debut following menarche among female youth in Uganda matter? A discrete time analysis

BackgroundThe burden of early sexual engagement among youth is enormous. It directly raises the risk of sexually transmitted infections(STIs) and indirectly contributes to unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, premature childbirth, and psychosocial issues. The aim of this paper was to estimate the timing of sexual debut and examine the factors influencing the timing of first sexual intercourse following menarche among female youth aged between 15 and 24 in Uganda.MethodSelf-reported data were extracted from the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS), with a sub-sample of 7964 female youth from the individual woman file. Kaplan-Meier survival curves, decrement life-table analysis, and the discrete-time logit model were used to examine the timing of sexual debut and associated factors.Results67.4% of the female youth had experienced first sexual initiation. Overall, the meantime to sexual debut was 4.4 years and the median time was 4.3 years, and all the female youth had experienced first sexual initiation by the end of the twelfth year following menarche. Significant factors found to influence the timing of sexual initiation include having higher education level (OR = 0.724: 95% CI = 0.59–0.89; p = 0.003), residing in the Northern region (OR = 0.877:95% CI = 0.79–0.97, p = 0.012), being employed (OR = 1.085: 95% CI = 1.01–1.16; p = 0.021), and being literate (OR = 1.155; 95% CI = 1.07–1.25; p < 0.001).ConclusionsThese findings are expected to be central in the bid to delay first sexual intercourse. Also they shed light on some of the factors associated with the timing of sexual debut which may be addressed at community level for non-school going youth and in schools, as school based prevention sexual and reproductive health programs. The findings highlight the need for future studies to collect more data to explore further the linkage between time to first debut since menarche and, mass media, religion, type of residence, and wealth index.

Timing of sexual debut and associated sociodemographic and HIV risk factors among young people in Eswatini.

Young people in sub-Saharan Africa and specifically in Eswatini (previously Swaziland), continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV despite having equitable access to antiretroviral treatment. Early sexual debut is one of the many factors linked to HIV infection that is discussed in the context of general public health. Monitoring this behavior is essential for developing preventative, evidence-based interventions. This study aims to describe the early and/or typical sexual debut among young people in Eswatini and examines sociodemographic and HIV risk factors associated with early and typical sexual debut timing. We analyzed cross-sectional secondary data from the 2016/17 Swaziland HIV Incidence Measurement Survey (SHIMS), which had a representative sample of 2,383 young people aged 18-24. Respondents were selected using a two-stage stratified probability sampling design. We applied descriptive statistics and multivariable multinomial logistic regressions to examine the data. Out of the 2,383 respondents, 71.3% had sexual experience, with 4.1% and 26.5% reporting early sexual debut (<15 years) and typical sexual debut (<18 years), respectively. Our study found that age, sex, education, marital status, wealth, sexual partners in the past 12 months, and alcohol use were significantly associated with early and/or typical sexual debut. It is crucial to consider the sociodemographic factors and HIV risk factors of young people when designing programs and interventions aimed at preventing early sexual debut or transition. This approach is necessary to promote better sexual and reproductive health in alignment with sustainable development goals.

Measuring sexual behavior among in-school youth in Rwanda: a cross-sectional analysis of self-reported timing of first sex and correlates of early sexual debut

PurposeUnderstanding the timing of sexual debut is critical for informing sexual and reproductive health interventions. We investigated sexual behavior and early sexual debut among Rwandan youth. MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from a cluster-randomized trial with 6079 students ages 12–19 years in Rwanda. We examined predictors of early sexual debut (<15 years) using logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and factors associated with the timing of first sex using Cox models to estimate hazard ratios. Interpretations of sex were also explored. ResultsParticipants were 15 years and 51.5% female on average; 1723 (28.3%) reported sexual activity. Among the 1320 participants who provided an age of sexual debut, 51.4% reported sex at ≤12 years and 75.7% at<15 years. Males had a higher odds of early sexual debut (adjusted odds ratio: 2.40; 95% CI: 1.99, 2.90) and a higher hazard of sex occuring at an earlier age than females (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.67, 2.20). One-third of participants considered “sexual intercourse” to include kissing, touching, or masturbation. ConclusionsSex at ≤12 years was frequently reported, indicating that interventions facilitating access to youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services are necessary before age 12. Validation studies are needed to evaluate how interpretations of sexual intercourse influence the assessment of sexual activity. Clinical trialNCT04198272.

Psychosexual Development and Sexual Functioning in Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer

Childhood cancer and its treatment can impair survivors' development throughout life, particularly psychosexual development, which can be affected in complex ways and is crucial for survivors' well-being. Yet, research is scarce. This study assessed psychosexual development (milestone attainment, age at attainment, perceived timing) in young adult survivors of childhood cancer. It further examined sexual satisfaction and sexual functioning, and whether survivors' perceived timing of sexual debut was related to satisfaction or functioning. A registry-based nationwide survey was completed by N=492 German survivors of childhood cancer (age 21-26 years, 6-26 years postdiagnosis). They completed standardized measures of psychosexual milestones (eg, first kiss, sexual debut), sexual satisfaction, and sexual functioning. Psychosexual development was compared to normative data (N=1,533). Psychosexual development, sexual satisfaction, and sexual functioning were the primary outcome measures. Psychosexual development was characterized in three ways: milestone attainment (yes/no), age at attainment, perceived timing ("right" time, too early/late). Milestone attainment was comparable to normative data, except for sexual debut: Survivors were less often experienced (82.5% vs 88%; P=.002) and older at sexual debut (17.4 vs 16.2 years; g=0.55), but most survivors (58.3%) perceived their timing as "right." Survivors of brain tumors were least likely to have had their sexual debut, but if experienced age at sexual debut was similar to other survivors. Female survivors were somewhat more experienced than males (eg, first kiss, first relationship; <10% difference), but they were somewhat older when they first kissed (g=0.26). Age at diagnosis was unrelated to milestone attainment. Perceived early/late sexual debut was related to lower satisfaction in female survivors (P=.026), but unrelated to sexual dysfunction. Instead, partnered men reported particularly low dysfunction whereas women reported similar levels of sexual dysfunction irrespective of their relationship status (P=.049). Overall, sexual functioning was favorable (60.2%: not/barely problematic). Most survivors reported favorable sexual satisfaction and functioning, but a minority of survivors may need supportive services. This project represents one of few large-scale studies on psychosexual development in childhood cancer survivors relative to normative data, and is the first to link development to sexual satisfaction/functioning. Assessing satisfaction/functioning with validated, but brief measures limits detailed insights, but was inclusive of any sexual orientation. Medical background information based on registry data was limited. Results showed normative psychosexual development (except for sexual debut) in most survivors. A self-determined attitude toward sexuality (ie, engaging in sexual activities at the "right" time) may generally determine positive sexual experiences. Lehmann V, Gerhardt CA, Baust K, et al. Psychosexual Development and Sexual Functioning in Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer. J Sex Med 2022;19:1645-1654.

Community structure and timing of sexual activity among adolescent girls in Nigeria.

Studies have linked the timing of sexual debut to unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmissible infections, including HIV. Current understandings of sexual debut among Nigerian adolescents focused on the roles of individual and familial characteristics. We leveraged the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey data to examine how community features like affluence, ethnic diversity, and women empowerment may be associated with the timing of sexual debut among adolescent girls. The sample comprised 7449 adolescent girls who were usual residents in 6,505 households and 1,352 clusters or communities. Statistical associations between community characteristics and the onset of sexual debut were assessed using a two-level mixed-effects parametric survival model with Weibull distribution. We found that community affluence [aHR:0.43, 95%CI: 0.30–0.62] and community ethnic diversity [aHR: 0.63, 95%CI: 0.42–0.94] are associated with a lower hazard of sexual debut among adolescent girls. We also observed that women that married within the observation period had an earlier sexual initiation than those who were unmarried. The results disaggregated by marital status further shows that higher community level of women’s employment [aHR: 2.45, 95%CI: 1.38–4.38] and women’s education [aHR:1.85, 95%CI: 1.03–3.33] were associated with a higher hazard of sexual debut among unmarried adolescent girls but not married adolescent girls. Higher community affluence [aHR:0.40, 95%CI: 0.27–0.60] was also associated with a lower hazard of sexual debut among unmarried adolescent girls but not married adolescent girls. Our results illuminate the associated factors of the timing of sexual debut among adolescent girls that moves beyond individual characteristics to community characteristics.

Higher parental socioeconomic status accelerates sexual debut: Evidence from university students in Italy

In this paper we analyze how the timing and type (protected or unprotected) of sexual debut are influenced by parental socioeconomic status (SES). We argue that depending on whether a "parental control" or a "cultural openness" mechanism prevails, one could find a postponing or an anticipating effect of higher parental SES on children's timing of sexual debut. By applying event-history techniques to unique data from the two releases of the Sexual and Emotional Life of Youths survey (2000 and 2017), we found a clear accelerating effect of higher parental SES-parental education and father's social class-on the sexual debut of Italian university students. The effect is partly mediated by family characteristics related to the cultural openness mechanism, such as low parental religiosity, greater communication about sex, and parental permissiveness; on the contrary, we only found weak support for the parental control explanation. Higher parental education is associated with a higher likelihood of protected first sexual intercourse-and especially of condom use-even if more precocious. Our results dispute the North American- and Anglo-Saxon-driven finding that high-SES children postpone their sexual debut.

"I wish I actually had known what the heck sex was:" What adolescent sexual minority males knew and wish they knew prior to sexual debut with a male partner.

Understanding the sexual health needs of adolescent sexual minority males (ASMM) at the time of sexual debut will inform programs seeking to decrease sexual health inequities experienced by ASMM. In 2020, sexually active, cisgender ASMM (n=102, age 14-17) in the United States completed the baseline assessment of an online sexual health intervention pilot trial. Participants responded to closed- and open-ended questions about their sexual debut with a male partner, including sexual behavior, skills and knowledge they knew and wish they knew at the time of their debut, and sources of said skills and knowledge. On average, participants were 14.5 years old (SD=1.4) at their debut. Participants reported knowing how to say no to sex (80%) and wishing they knew how to talk with partners about what they would (50%) and would not (52%) like to do sexually. Open-ended responses indicated that participants desired sexual communication skills at sexual debut. Personal research (67%) was the most common knowledge source prior to debut, and open-ended responses suggest that Google, pornography, and social media were the most frequently used websites and phone applications to find information about sex. Results suggest sexual health programs for ASMM should occur prior to sexual debut, teach sexual communication skills, and teach media literacy skills to help youth deduce credible sexual health resources. Incorporating the sexual health needs and wants of ASMM into sexual health programs will likely improve acceptability and efficacy, and ultimately decrease sexual health inequities experienced by ASMM.

Sexual debut among college students in China: effects of family context.

This study examines family context and sexual debut among young people in China. Using data from the 2018 Panel Study of Chinese University Students (PSCUS), it explores how the family is correlated with sexual debut among young people in China aged 18-24 years. The Kaplan-Meier method was adopted to detect a survival function for different family factors and related demographic variables. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was adopted to calculate hazard ratios for the timing of sexual debut. The average age of sexual debut among the college students was 18.39 years. The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that sexual intercourse initiation was earlier for female students who had no siblings, and those who had a mother with senior high school (including technical school) education or higher family income, but this correlation was insignificant among male students. The multivariate hazard regression analysis revealed that living in a family with a higher level of fathers' education, having a lower level of family income and having siblings had positive correlations with later sexual debut among the college students. Moreover, family factors showed gender differences in their associations with the timing of sexual debut, typically parent's education level, family income and left-behind experience. This study provides a comprehensive perspective on the role of family influences in timing of sexual debut among youth in China.

Adolescent Health Series: HPV infection and vaccination in sub-Saharan Africa: 10 years of research in Tanzanian female adolescents - narrative review.

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality in many sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, including Tanzania. Most cervical cancer cases worldwide are attributable to infection of the cervix with Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a vaccine-preventable sexually transmitted infection (STI). Over the past 10years, we have conducted a programme of HPV research in pre-adolescents and adolescents in Mwanza, the second-largest city in Tanzania, which is situated in a malaria-endemic region. In this narrative review article, we summarise the contribution of our work, alongside work of others, to improve the understanding of HPV epidemiology in SSA and development of setting-appropriate, evidence-based intervention strategies. We present evidence for very high prevalence and incidence of HPV infection among female SSA adolescents around the time of sexual debut, describe risk factors for HPV acquisition, and discuss associations between HPV, HIV and other STIs, which are also highly prevalent within this population. We summarise findings from early clinical trials of HPV vaccines in SSA, the first of which was an immunogenicity and safety trial conducted in Mwanza, Tanzania, and Dakar, Senegal. Within the trial, we evaluated for the first time the potential impact of malaria and helminth infection on vaccine-induced antibody responses in Tanzanian girls. We describe research evaluating optimal HPV vaccine delivery strategies within this setting, perceived requirements for and barriers to vaccine implementation among key informants from LMIC, vaccine acceptability among girls and parents, and opportunities for co-delivery of interventions alongside HPV vaccination to an adolescent population. Finally, we discuss country-level barriers to vaccine uptake in LMIC, and ongoing studies in Tanzania and other SSA countries of reduced-dose HPV vaccination schedules that may alleviate cost and logistical barriers to vaccine implementation.

Leisure Boredom, Timing of Sexual Debut, and Co-Occurring Behaviors among South African Adolescents.

Sex during adolescence is normative; however, there are substantial individual differences in the timing and context of sexual debut. Leisure boredom is an underexplored correlate of sexual behavior that is associated with many adolescent health outcomes. We investigated if and how individual differences in leisure boredom may be associated with timing of sexual debut, and whether individuals engage in safe or risky behaviors at debut. Survival analysis, logistic regression, and Poisson regression were applied to eight-wave longitudinal data obtained from 3,088 South African adolescents (baseline Mage = 13.9years) to examine associations between leisure boredom and cumulative hazard of sexual debut across adolescence, odds of co-occurring sexual behaviors, and incidence rate of co-occurring sexual risk behaviors at debut. Higher levels of leisure boredom were associated with elevated hazard cumulatively across adolescence. Higher levels of leisure boredom were also associated with lower odds of safe sex and higher odds of substance use during sex and transactional sex at sexual debut, but not casual sex or condom non-use at sexual debut. Although odds of singular risk behaviors were lower for girls than for boys, the association between leisure boredom and the number of risk behaviors at sexual debut was stronger for girls than boys. Higher trait leisure boredom was associated with elevated hazard of sexual debut, greater likelihood that risky behaviors accompanied sexual debut, and greater number of co-occurring risky behaviors at sexual debut. Results support leisure boredom as a potential target for preventing sexual risk behavior among South African adolescents.

Perhaps It Was Too Soon: College Students’ Reflections on the Timing of Their Sexual Debut

ABSTRACT Early sexual debut has been a focus of social scientific research due to its association with adverse circumstances and negative outcomes. However, there has been a recent shift to considering not only chronological age, but also the degree to which the event is viewed to be optimally timed (i.e., the perception that it occurred at the “right time” versus too soon). The purpose of this study was to assess how individual/family background variables and contextual aspects of the experience (including partner and relationship aspects) are associated with both the actual age at sexual debut and the perceived acceptability of the timing of the event. Using data collected from students at a U.S. university between 1990 and 2019 (N = 6,430), several factors (in addition to chronological age) were associated with the perceived acceptability of the timing of sexual debut. Strong gender differences were found – women perceived their timing to be less acceptable, even though they did not differ from men in actual age at sexual debut. Other robust predictors of perceived acceptability included (lower) religious involvement and recalling desire (for the experience), pleasure, and lower guilt at the time. Only slight changes occurred over the 30-year period in age at sexual debut and perceived acceptability of the timing. Suggestions for future research are provided and implications for sex education/sexual health interventions are discussed.

Distinct Immunoglobulin Fc Glycosylation Patterns Are Associated with Disease Nonprogression and Broadly Neutralizing Antibody Responses in Children with HIV Infection.

A prophylactic HIV vaccine would ideally induce protective immunity prior to sexual debut. Children develop broadly neutralizing antibody (bnAb) responses faster and at higher frequencies than adults, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms or the potential role of Fc-mediated effector functions in disease progression. We therefore performed systems immunology, with immunoglobulin profiling, on HIV-infected children with progressive and nonprogressive disease. Pediatric nonprogressors (PNPs) showed distinct immunoglobulin profiles with an increased ability to elicit potent Fc-mediated natural killer (NK)-cell effector functions. In contrast to previous reports in adults, both groups of children showed high levels of gp120-specific IgG Fc glycan sialylation compared to bulk IgG. Importantly, higher levels of Fc glycan sialylation were associated with increased bnAb breadth, providing the first evidence that Fc sialylation may drive affinity maturation of HIV-specific antibodies in children, a mechanism that could be exploited for vaccination strategies.IMPORTANCE To protect future generations against HIV, a vaccine will need to induce immunity by the time of sexual debut and hence requires immunization during childhood. Current strategies for a prophylactic HIV vaccine include the induction of a broadly neutralizing antibody response and the recruitment of potent effector functions of immune cells via the constant antibody Fc region. In this study, we show that nonprogressing HIV-infected children mounted antibody responses against HIV that were able to mediate potent Fc effector functions, which may contribute to the control of HIV replication. Children who had specific glycan structures on the Fc portion of antibodies against HIV were able to neutralize a broader range of HIV variants, providing evidence of a potential role of Fc glycovariation in the development of bnAbs against HIV. These findings complement our knowledge of the distinct immune landscape in early life that could be exploited in the development of vaccine strategies.

School and Parental Factors Associated with One-Night Stand, Condom Use at Sexual Debut and Multiple Sexual Partners

In many countries, risky sexual behaviour appears to have become more common among sexually active young adults due to increasing acceptance of pre-marital sexual behaviour. This poses threat to the sexual and reproductive health of those who engage in same. This study investigated the possible influence of school and parental factors such as time of sexual debut (before or after admission), institutional type, accommodation type (whether campus or off-campus), parental marriage type, parental counselling and family of socialisation on three risky sexual behaviours. These are one-night stand, condom use at first sex and multiple sexual partners. The study adopted cross-sectional survey method. A total of 433 respondents were selected from three stratified tertiary institutions in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study found that institutional type and parents' marriage significantly influenced involvement in one-night stand. The age at sexual debut and parents' marriage type are associated with the use of condom at first sex. Also, while students of polytechnic had more sexual partners than their counterparts in the university and college of education (F: 16.849; p: 0.001), those living inside campus were significantly more likely to have multiple sexual partners than those outside campus (T: -1.995; p: 0.047). The study recommends the need for the management of institutes of higher learning and accommodation providers to improve their physical environment to discourage risky sexual behaviours, and to sensitise young people. Also, parent-child discussion on sex-related matters from both parents especially in polygynous homes is encouraged.

Religiosity differences in the transition to first intercourse before age 18 among Polish students

Poland is a Catholic country and is one of a few countries in Europe where the percentage of people declaring themselves as non-believing remains rather low. Thus, most young Poles are brought up in Catholic families and receive religious instruction at school.The purpose of this study is to estimate the effects of religiosity and gender on the risk of first intercourse before age 18 among university students in Poland. We analysed data from two comparative studies of affective life, sexual behaviour, and attitudes conducted among university students in 2001 and 2013. We used survival analysis techniques to test for relative differences in the effects of religiosity on the timing of first sexual intercourse. While the results confirm that religiosity was a significant differentiating factor in the sexual behaviours of students in Poland, they also show that religiosity was a significant predictor of sexual abstinence only if a young person regarded religion as very important. The unadjusted median age at first sex for the participants who attached no or little importance to religion was more than 2 years lower than the median age among those who considered religion very important and attended church services regularly. The findings also indicate that there were significant gender differences, with young males transitioning to sex earlier than young females, albeit only among the 2001 cohort. The multivariate analyses confirm the absence of significant gender differences in FSI before age 18 within religious groups (controlling for other factors) in the cohort of students born after 1990. The results for control variables are consistent with the literature indicating that growing up in a two-parent household has a protective effect, and that teenage lifestyles are significant. Our observation of a distinct polarity of students with respect to religiosity and the timing of sexual debut may be a starting point for further analyses of FSI determinants.

The Vaginal Microbiota Among Adolescent Girls in Tanzania Around the Time of Sexual Debut.

The aetiology of bacterial vaginosis (BV) is not well-understood, and prevalence appears to be higher among women living in sub-Saharan Africa. A recent conceptual model implicates three main bacteria (Gardnerella vaginalis; Atopobium vaginae; and Prevotella bivia), sexual activity, sialidase activity, and biofilm formation in the pathogenesis of BV. We describe the vaginal microbiota, presence of the putative sialidase A gene of G. vaginalis, and biofilm among 386 adolescent girls aged 17 and 18 years in a cross-sectional study in Mwanza, Tanzania around the time of expected sexual debut. Vaginal swabs were collected and tested by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for five Lactobacillus species, G. vaginalis, A. vaginae, P. bivia, the sialidase A gene of G. vaginalis, and by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) for evidence of G. vaginalis and A. vaginae biofilm. We conducted a risk factor analysis of G. vaginalis, A. vaginae and P. bivia, and explored the associations between biofilm, the presence of the sialidase A gene, and non-optimal vaginal microbiota (Nugent 4–7). L. crispatus and L. iners were detected in 69 and 82% of girls, respectively. The prevalence of L. crispatus was higher than previously reported in earlier studies among East and Southern African women. G. vaginalis, A. vaginae, P. bivia were independently associated with reported penile-vaginal sex. Samples with all three BV-associated bacteria made up the highest proportion of samples with Nugent-BV compared to samples with each bacterium alone or together in pairs. Of the 238 girls with G. vaginalis, 63% had the sialidase A gene detected, though there was no difference by reported sexual activity (p = 0.197). Of the 191 girls with results for sialidase A gene and FISH, there was strong evidence for an increased presence of sialidase A gene among those with evidence of a biofilm (p < 0.001). There was a strong association between biofilm and non-optimal microbiota (aOR67.00; 95% CI 26.72–190.53). These results support several of the steps outlined in the conceptual model, although the role of sexual activity is less clear. We recommend longitudinal studies to better understand changes in vaginal microbiota and biofilm formation around the time of sexual debut.

Assessing Components of Ghana’s Comprehensive Sexuality Education on the Timing of Sexual Debut Among In-School Youth

Although Ghana’s comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) program has been lauded, no study has examined its association with the sexual health outcomes of Ghanaian youth. Using data collected from 2,982 in-school youth (male = 1,820 and female = 1,162) aged 15 to 17 years in three administrative regions of the country, we applied discrete-time hazard models to examine associations between components of Ghana’s CSE on the timing of sexual debut among male and female youth. Results indicate significant relationships between components on HIV prevention and timing of sexual debut for male youth. Male youth who learned about HIV prevention delayed sexual debut; however, male youth who endorsed myths about HIV transmission started sex early. Females who learned about values and interpersonal skills delayed their sexual debut, but the influence of this variable was attenuated by respondents’ demographic characteristics. Female respondents residing in the Greater Accra and Northern regions delayed sex, compared with those in the Brong Ahafo region.

HPV prevalence around the time of sexual debut in adolescent girls in Tanzania

ObjectivesCervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Data on human papillomavirus (HPV) epidemiology in adolescent girls in SSA are essential to inform...

A closer look at attachment, sexuality, and couple relationships

In this study, the relationships between attachment patterns and relationship outcomes were explored through the mechanism of sexuality with two large samples from the U.S. In the first sample ( N = 4,834), the associations between insecure attachment patterns, the number of committed and casual sexual partners, timing of sexual debut, and relationship status were explored. In the second sample, a nationally representative sample of recently married couples ( N = 4212), an actor–partner model was used to explore the associations with attachment on the number of sexual partners and sexual timing and their subsequent influence on relationship and sexual satisfaction over two time points. The results indicated that, for Sample 1, insecure attachment was associated with both the number of casual and committed sexual partners and an increased likelihood of being single for men and women. For Sample 2, the actor–partner measures of attachment were associated with relationship and sexual satisfaction over two time points but had weak associations with the number of sexual partners and sexual timing.

Precocious and Problematic? The Consequences of Youth Violent Victimization for Adolescent Sexual Behavior.

Violent victimization is concentrated in adolescence and is disruptive to both the timing and sequencing of key life course transitions that occur during this developmental stage. Drawing on recent work establishing the interpersonal consequences of youth victimization, we examined the effect of violent victimization on adolescents' timing of sexual debut and involvement in additional sexual risk behaviors (multiple sexual partnering and inconsistent contraceptive use). This study relied on secondary data analysis of 10,070 youth from four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). To predict sexual debut and subsequent sexual risk-taking, analyses were limited to youth not yet sexually active at their wave I interview. Findings from Cox proportional hazards models, negative binomial regression, and repeated measures ordinal logistic regression showed that adolescent victims of violence initiated sex sooner than non-victims and accumulated more sexual partners, but patterns varied by age at victimization. Youth victimized in late adolescence displayed an accelerated trajectory of sexual activity while youth victimized in early adolescence were less likely to debut or engage in other sexual risk behaviors (although younger victims were more likely to engage in other deviant activities). Sexual activity is a normative part of adolescent development, yet this study finds that violent victimization may disrupt the timing of this life course task, exacerbating deviant risk-taking and undermining youths' subsequent well-being. This study also highlights the importance of life course criminology's attention to timing in lives, given that the consequences of victimization varied by the age when it occurred.

Determinants of the age at sexual debut among adolescents in secondary schools in Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State, Nigeria

Background: The age at sexual debut is an important public health issue as it determines the onset of exposure to sexual and reproductive health diseases. Early sexual debut increases the risk of sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy and all the associated sequelae. This study determined the age at sexual debut and associated factors among adolescents in secondary schools in Obio/Akpor local government area (LGA) of Rivers State, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional school-based study was carried out among eight secondary schools in Obio/Akpor LGA of Rivers State between May and July 2017. Using the multistaged sampling method, 426 students aged 10–19 years were recruited. A semi-structured pretested self-administered questionnaire was used. SPSS version 20 was used for analysis. Comparison of means was done using the Student's t-test, while the test for association between subgroups was carried out using the Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis was done to describe the sociodemographic characteristics of respondents and to identify independently associated factors. Results: Of the 426 students studied, 223 (52.3%) of them were males and 203 (47.7%) were females, giving a male-to-female ratio of 1:1. The mean age of respondents was 13.8 ± 1.7 years. The prevalence of sexual intercourse was 8.0%, with a mean age at sexual debut of 13.0 ± 2.3 years. The factors identified to influence the age at sexual debut include alcohol use (odds ratio [OR]: 13.088, confidence interval [CI]: 6.038–28.374, P = 0.000), not living with both parents (OR: 7.008, CI: 3.289–15.164, P = 0.000), peer pressure (χ[2] = 17.007, P ≤ 0.001) and sexual abuse (χ[2] = 7.472, P = 0.006). Conclusion: The prevalence of sexual intercourse is 8.0% among adolescents in Obio/Akpor LGA. Early sexual debut exists with no gender difference on the timing of sexual debut. Peer pressure, sexual abuse, alcohol use and absence of both parents in a child's life are risk factors to early sexual debut. An early and comprehensive sex education is necessary to protect children from initiating sexual intercourse early in life.