Age at Coitarche among secondary school students in Jos

Abstract

Background: the age of first sexual intercourse is important in  gynecological practice. Ranging from STIs to cervical cancer. It can be influenced by substances such as alcohol. a better understanding of the determinants of the age at first sex is crucial for HIV/STI prevention  programs.
Objectives: the aim was to determine the age of sexual debut among  secondary school students and Factors associated with early Sexual initiation.
Method: the study was a cross sectional study among senior secondary  students in both private and public school. Student who consent to the study were giving questionnaires to fill
Results: There were a total of 400 students. The mean age of coitarche  among females was 14.2±2.78. The mean coitarche age for the males was 12.62±3.51.
Conclusion: The mean age of coitarche among females and males were 14 and 12 respectively. The male had earlier sexual debut. On the type of school, private schools had higher proportion of early sexual debutants than public schools. The age at sexual debut is associated with pregnancy and STIs.

Recommendation: The availability of Adolescent clinic, accessible family planning methods with organized sex education for these secondary school students could go a long way in curtailing early coitarche and its attending
consequences.