Premarital sexual intercourse has essential implications for the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young women. This study examined the trends, patterns, and associations of premarital sexual intercourse among young women aged 15β24 in Sierra Leone. Nationally representative cross-sectional data from the , , and Demographic and Health Surveys in Sierra Leone were used for the study. A weighted sample of 9, never-married young women was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of premarital sexual intercourse in Sierra Leone.
Percentages were used to present the results of the trends and patterns of premarital sexual intercourse. We employed a multilevel binary logistic regression modelling technique to examine the associations of premarital sexual intercourse. The pooled prevalence of premarital sexual intercourse among the young women in Sierra Leone was Over the survey years, premarital sexual intercourse increased from However, it declined by 3. Our study found a high prevalence of premarital sexual intercourse among young women in Sierra Leone.
Premarital sexual intercourse was associated with age, educational level, wealth, employment, and region. This necessitates providing them with comprehensive information regarding sexual and reproductive health behaviours, specifically emphasising the benefits and adverse consequences of engaging in sexual experimentation.
Additionally, it is crucial to promote the adoption of abstinence, injections, implants, and condom usage through consistent advocacy for youth-risk communication.
Editor: Matt A. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The authors confirm that interested researchers would be able to access these data in the same manner as the authors.
