Prevalence and Determinants of Early Initiation of Sexual Intercourse Among Youth Girls in Ethiopia

Purpose: The aim of the study was to identify the prevalence and associated factors of early sexual initiation among youth girls in Ethiopia. Design and methods: From 15,683 women participants of the 2016 EDHS, a sub-sample of 6401 youth girls aged 15-24 years were selected; from which 5737 youth girls who had a complete response to all variables of interest were retained for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable regression analysis were carried out. Results: The prevalence of early initiation of sexual intercourse among study participants was 2201(38.4%). The mean age of sexual intercourse initiation was 16.5 years. The odds of early sexual initiation was higher among respondents belonging to age group of 20-24 (AOR = 6.81, 95% CI (8.7, 12.13)), being from rural areas (AOR = 1.68, 95%CI (1.04, 2.70)), living in Gambella (AOR = 2.38, 95%CI (1.19, 4.78)), being from poorest wealth quintile (AOR = 1.41, 95%CI (0.83, 2.41)), being not employed (AOR = 1.59, 95%CI (1.23, 2.05)), have comprehensive HIV knowledge (AOR = 1.2, 95% CI (1.74, 2.35), didn't read newspaper or magazine (AOR = 1.39, 95% CI (1.77,2.53)), never used internet (AOR = 3.19, 95% CI (0.87,11.66)), smoked cigarette (AOR = 1.47, 95%CI (0.41, 5.19), used modern contraceptive (AOR = 1.20, 95%CI (0.81, 1.77)), used Voluntary, Counseling and Testing (VCT) service (AOR = 1.48, 95%CI, (1.11, 1.97)) and chewed chat (AOR = 2.21, 95%CI (3.41, 4.41)) when compared with their counterparts. Conclusions: The current study revealed that early sexual initiation is an important public health problem among youth girls in Ethiopia. Factors which were significantly associated with early initiation of sexual intercourse include: being older age, being from rural residence, living in Gambella region, being unemployment, being from poor wealth quintile, lack of comprehensive HIV knowledge, decreased frequency of reading newspaper or magazine, lack of use of internet, cigarette smoking, VCT utilization, and chat chewing. Practice implications: A legal age for buying alcohol, cigarette, and chat should be set. Strategies focusing on poverty reduction, entrepreneurship, and awareness creation on the consequence of early initiation of sexual intercourse should be emphasized. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier Inc.