Contraception and Reproductive Medicine volume 9 , Article number: 56 Cite this article. Metrics details. Early sexual debut among young women is associated with adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes, including unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.
Despite its negative impact, there is limited research on this issue in Sierra Leone. This study aims to address this gap by examining the prevalence of early sexual debut and its associated factors among adolescent girls and young women aged 15—24 years in Sierra Leone. Provincial variations in the proportion of early sexual debut were visualised using a spatial map.
A mixed-effect multilevel binary logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the factors associated with early sexual debut. The prevalence of early sexual debut was Early sexual debut is prevalent among adolescent girls and young women in Sierra Leone.
Age, education, internet use, ethnicity, contraceptive use intention, marital status, employment status, and province of residence were the factors associated with early sexual debut.
The study underscores the need for policymakers, government, and non-governmental organisations to design and implement comprehensive and multifaceted interventions to promote informed decision-making and reproductive health among adolescent girls and young women in Sierra Leone.
