Determinants of Age at Sexual Initiation among Nigerian Adolescents: A Study of Secondary Schools Students in a Military Barracks in Nigeria

Context: Adolescent sexual behavior is shaped by series of interlinking individual and family related factors. Information on how these factors influence early sexual debut could help in mounting programmatic strategies to modify adolescent sexual behavior. Objective: To determine the age at first sexual intercourse and its determinants among senior secondary schools students in Ojo military barracks, Lagos. Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 400 senior secondary schools students in Ojo military barracks, Lagos, selected using multistage sampling technique. Datawas collected using pretested, self- administered semi- structured questionnaires and analysed using statistical package for social sciences version 17. Tests of statistical significance were carried out using chi-square and t-tests. A p value of u003c 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The age group at which respondents had their first sexual intercourse ranged from10 to19 years, the mean ages are 14.1±1.2 and 13.4±1.5 for males and females, while the modal and median ages at first sexual intercourse for both gender are 11 and 12 years respectively with a cumulative frequency percent of 56.5. The girls initiated sex earlier than the boys (p= 0.001). Those brought up by one parent initiated sex at an earlier age (p= 0.000), while age of sex initiation increased with maternal (p= 0.000) and paternal education (p= 0.001). Conclusions: Age at sexual debut was found to be associated with younger age, gender, living with a one parent and parentsu0027 educational status. We recommend formal comprehensive sex education programs targeted at delaying age at first sex.