Premarital sex in the last twelve months and its predictors among students of Wollega University, Ethiopia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Premarital sex increases the risk of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections including HIV if unprotected and contraception is not used. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess premarital sex in the last twelve months and its predictors among regular undergraduate students of Wollega University. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using pretested, structured questionnaire was conducted on a total of 704 regular undergraduate students of Wollega University from February to March, 2014. We used multistage sampling technique to recruit study participants. Binary and multivariable logistic regressions were performed using SPSS version 20 to assess predictors of premarital sex. Statistical significance was determined through a 95% confidence level. RESULTS: Wollega University youths who had premarital sex in the last twelve months were 28.4%; 55.5% of them did not use condom during last sex while 31.3% engaged in multiple sex. Being male .2(1.31-3.56)] were associated with increased odds of premarital sex in the last twelve months. CONCLUSION: Nearly one-third of regular undergraduate students of the university were engaged in premarital sex in the last twelve months. Being male, using social media frequently and alcohol use were associated with increased odds of premarital sex in the stated period. Thus, higher institutions have to deliver abstinence messages alongside information about self-protection.

Factors determining premarital sexual practice of school students, institutional based cross sectional study in northern Ethiopia

“…In Ethiopia sex before marriage and early initiation of sex is still high among adolescents and as a consequence they are becoming a victim of different negative outcomes of the practice (7), (8,12). Different articles indicated that age, gender, residence, educational level, watching pornography, Khat and alcohol utilization had been contributing for sex before marriage, but they are not consistent, still there is controversy among different reports (1), (3), so it is mandatory to identify the prevalence and associated factors of premarital sexual practice in the specified study area that can give information for Health policy makers, local health program managers and other responsible bodies that focus on health related issues.…”

Premarital sexual practice and its associated factors in Ethiopia. A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Of the included articles, 41.6% of the included studies were conducted from Oromia region [5,11,18,24,29,33,35,[37][38][39]: seven studies from Amhara region [19-22, 28, 30, 34]: four studies were reported from SNNPR [9,26,27,32]: two articles in Tigray [23,25] and one articles [31] conducted in Addis Ababa city administration. Except one study which was conducted at community level in Tigray region [23], all other studies were done at the institutional level.…”

“…Once more, similar with the reports from Asian countries and Nepal [10,54], Youths who drink alcohol were more likely get involved in premarital sexual practice than those who didn't drink alcohol. This can be possibly explained by that risky sexual behavior such as smoking and alcohol drinking is associated with higher approval of premarital sexual practice [5,6,17].…”

“…Globally, large number of adolescents engage in premarital sexual practice [2,3]. As they are so young and less likely to use condom, unprotected or unsafe sexual practice is high [4,5]. Among youths who practiced premarital sexual practice, only very few numbers were continued as husband later on, while majority had sex with love even end up with prostitute [6].…”

“…In Ethiopia different pocket studies assessed the premarital sexual practice and associated factors [5,9,11,. However, the reports from those pocket studies on premarital sexual practice were represented with inconclusive and inconsistent ndings.…”