Pre-Marital Sexual Debut and Associated Factors among Unmarried Regular Students of AdigratUniversity, Northern Ethiopia

Abstract Background Premarital sexual debuts are increasing in the globe. It has vital role in spreading sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy among the youths. Even though a single study was conducted among high school students of Adigrat town, there is no published data that describes premarital sex and factor associated among students of Adigrat University.Thus, this study has aimed to assess pre-marital sexual debut and associated factors among unmarried regular studentsof AdigratUniversity, northern Ethiopia. Methods Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted using a facilitator guided self-administered questionnaire among students of Adigrat University. Study participants were recruited using multistage sampling technique. Data was analyzed using statistical package for social science version 22 to determine the association between variables. A p-value < 0.05 with a corresponding 95% confidence interval was considered as statistically significant. Result The overall prevalence of premarital debut among the study participants was,22.9%.According to multivariate analysis, peer pressure (AOR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.2–2.6, p = 0.002); watching pornographic video (AOR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.1–2.3, p = 0.031) and using psychoactive drugs (substance) (AOR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.3–3.1, p = 0.001) were statistically significant factors associated with the occurrence of pre-marital sexual debut among the study participants. Conclusion Premarital sexual debut is becoming more prevalent among students. Watching pornographic video, peer pressure and using psychoactive drugs were statistically contributing factors to debut student in premarital sex. Hence, our finding suggests ministry of health and ministry of education should work together giving more attention for designing persistent and effective reproductive health education programme among students of higher education.