Why Too Soon? Early Initiation of Sexual Intercourse Among Adolescent Females in Ethiopia: Evidence from 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey

Figures & data

Table 1 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Adolescent Females in Ethiopia, 2016

Variables	Categories	Frequency (Weighted)	Percentage
Place of Residences	Urban	805	23.81
	Rural	2576	76.19
Age Group	<18 years	2050	60.63
	≥18 years	1331	39.37
Religion	Orthodox	1426	42.18
	Protestant	847	25.05
	Muslim	1064	31.47
	Others	44	1.3
Sexual Partner	Yes	588	17.39
	No	2793	82.61
Employment Status	Unemployed	2558	75.66
	Employed	823	24.34
Educational Status	No education	468	13.84
	Primary education	2148	63.54
	Secondary	678	20.05
	Higher	87	2.57
Wealth Status	Poorest	478	14.14
	Poorer	558	16.50
	Middle	638	18.87
	Richer	716	21.18
	Richest	991	29.31
Administrative Regions	Tigray	276	8.16
	Afar	29	0.86
	Amhara	767	22.68
	Oromiya	1234	36.5
	Somali	105	3.1
	Benishangul	34	1.01
	SNNPR	681	20.14
	Gambella	9	0.27
	Harari	8	0.24
	Addis Ababa	217	6.42
	Dire Dawa	20	0.59

Abbreviation: SNNPR, Southern nations, nationalities and people region.

Table 2 Risky Behaviors Associated with Early Sexual Initiation Among Female Ethiopian Adolescents, 2016

Variables	Categories	Frequency	Percentage
Ever chewed khat	No	3131	92.6
	Yes	250	7.4
Ever Drink alcohol	Yes	2352	69.6
	No	1029	30.4
Number of Sexual Partners (n= 832)	One	742	89.2
	Two and above	90	10.8

Table 3 Factors Associated with Early Sexual Initiation Among Female Ethiopian Adolescents, 2016

Predictor Variables	Categories	Early Sexual Initiation		COR	AOR
		No	Yes
Place of Residences	Urban	703	102	1	1
	Rural	1937	639	2.270(1.81, 2.85)*	0.92(0.61, 1.38)
Religion	Orthodox	1118	308	1	1
	Protestant	730	117	0.58(0.46, 0.73)*	1.27(0.88, 1.85)
	Muslim	722	309	1.48(1.24, 1.78)*	1.76(1.24, 2.49)*
	Others	37	7	0.74(0.33, 1.64)	0.69(0.28, 1.65)
Educational Status	No education	265	204	1	1
	Primary education	1685	462	0.356(0.29, 0.44)*	0.44(0.35, 0.56)*
	Secondary	615	63	0.13(0.097, 0.18)*	0.19(0.13, 0.28)*
	Higher	76	11	0.19(0.099, 0.37)*	0.31(0.15, 0.63)*
Wealth Status	Poorest	300	178	1	1
	Poorer	391	167	0.71(0.55, 0.93)*	0.66(0.49, 0.88)*
	Middle	482	156	0.54(0.42, 0.70)*	0.57(0.42, 0.76)*
	Richer	604	112	0.31(0.24, 0.41)*	0.40(0.29, 0.55)*
	Richest	863	128	0.25(0.19, 0.32)*	0.49(0.32, 0.73)*
Ever Chewed Khat	No	2501	630	1	1
	Yes	139	111	3.15(2.42, 4.10)*	2.02(1.47, 2.77)*
Ever Drink Alcohol	No	1872	480	1	1
	Yes	768	261	1.33(1.11, 1.57)*	1.83(1.35, 2.48)*
Knowledge of Family Planning	No	90	11	1	1
	Yes	2550	730	2.3(1.22, 4.25)*	4.47(2.22, 8.99)*
Administrative Regions	Addis Ababa	197	20	1	1
	Tigray	211	64	3.01(1.76, 5.16)*	1.81(0.97, 3.39)
	Afar	16	14	8.44(3.58, 19.89)*	2.56(0.97, 6.8)
	Amhara	547	220	3.97(2.44, 6.45)*	2.30(1.30, 4.09)*
	Oromiya	956	279	2.88(1.78, 4.65)*	1.40(0.79, 2.51)
	Somali	79	26	3.29(1.74, 6.23)*	1.51(0.70, 3.29)
	Benishangul	26	8	3.18(1.28, 7.87)*	1.95(0.73, 5.24)
	SNNPR	579	101	1.73(1.04, 2.87)*	1.18(0.64, 2.19)
	Gambella	6	3	5.47(1.33, 22.54)*	4.89(1.08, 22.07)*
	Harari	6	2	3.11(0.56, 17.33)	2.09(0.33, 13.20)
	Dire Dawa	17	4	2.37(0.72, 7.82)	1.57(0.44, 5.53)
Frequency of Watching TV	Not at all	1707	590	1	1
	<1 a week	384	88	0.66(0.51, 0.85)*	0.88(0.66, 1.18)
	≥1 week	549	63	0.33(0.25, 0.44)*	0.68(0.46, 1.01)
Frequency of Listening Radio	Not at all	1620	522	1	1
	<1 a week	536	119	0.69(0.55, 0.86)*	1.04(0.81, 1.33)
	≥1 week	484	100	0.64(0.50, 0.80)*	1.22(0.92, 1.60)

Note: *Statistically significant at p < 0.05.

Abbreviations: AOR, adjusted odds ratio; COR, crudes odds ratio; SNNPR, Southern nations, nationalities and people region.