2025/09/04 by Tegene Atamenta Kitaw and Ribka Nigatu Haile
paper · doi:10.20372/nadre:17238
Background. The first sexual experience is the most significant event in a woman’s life. Early sexual experience has short- and<br> long-term health and behavioral risks. Studying the estimated time for a female to have her first sexual debut is important to<br> reduce its health, demographic, and socioeconomic consequences. Thus, this study is aimed at assessing the time to first sexual<br> experience and its determinants in Ethiopia. Methods. A survival analysis of time to first sexual experience was conducted<br> among 6143 weighted study subjects. The data were extracted from EDHS 2016 using STATA version 16 software. A KaplanMeier survival curve was computed to estimate the time of first sexual experience. A log-rank test was used to compare the<br> difference in survival curves. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to identify significant predictors. On<br> multivariable analysis, variables having a p value of ≤ 0.05 are considered statically significant. Results. The overall median<br> survival time was 16 years. The significant determinants of time to first sexual experience are educational level (no education<br> (AHR = 2:72, 95% CI: 2.16, 3.39), primary education (AHR = 2:17, 95% CI: 1.79, 2.63), and secondary education (AHR = 1:47,<br> 95% CI: 1.21, 1.77)) and wealth index (poor (AHR = 1:15, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.32)). Conclusion. About 50% of female youths have a<br> sexual experience for the first time before their 16th birthday. The timing of the first sexual experience in Ethiopia was mainly<br> influenced by educational level and wealth index. Universal access to education and poverty reduction should be the area of<br> concern.<br>