Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jul;22(Suppl 1):57-64.
doi: 10.1007/s10461-018-2058-9.

Age at Sexual Initiation and Sexual and Health Risk Behaviors Among Jamaican Adolescents and Young Adults

Sharlene Beckford Jarrett  1 , Wadiya Udell  2 , Sannia Sutherland  3 , Willi McFarland  4   5 , Marion Scott  6 , Nicola Skyers  6
Affiliations

Age at Sexual Initiation and Sexual and Health Risk Behaviors Among Jamaican Adolescents and Young Adults

Sharlene Beckford Jarrett et al. AIDS Behav. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

Current policies limit access to sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents younger than 16 years in Jamaica. Using data from a national survey, we explored the relationship between age at sexual initiation and subsequent sexual risk behaviors in a random sample of 837 Jamaican adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 years. In the sample overall, 21.0% had not yet had sex. Among the 661 sexually active participants, the mean age at first sex was 14.7 years. High percentages of sexually active youth reported engaging in risk behaviors such as inconsistent condom use (58.8%), multiple sex partners (44.5%), and transactional sex (43.0%). Age of sexual initiation for males was unrelated to subsequent sexual risk behaviors. However, earlier sexual debut for females was associated with their number of partners during the preceding year. Findings underscore the potential benefits of access to sexual and reproductive education and services at earlier ages than current policies allow. Interventions before and during the period of sexual debut may reduce sexual risk for Jamaican adolescents and young adults.

Keywords: Adolescent sexual health; Jamaica; Sexual and reproductive health policy; Sexual debut; Sexual risk behavior.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Comparisons by sex and age of sexual debut among adolescents and young adults for (A) HIV testing,a (B) condom use,a (C) frequent drinking,a (D) multiple partners,b and (E) transactional sex,a Jamaica, 2012. a Pairwise comparisons did not achieve statistical significance. b Female multiple partners – female 0 or 1 partner, P=.022
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Comparisons by sex and age of sexual debut among adolescents and young adults for (A) HIV testing,a (B) condom use,a (C) frequent drinking,a (D) multiple partners,b and (E) transactional sex,a Jamaica, 2012. a Pairwise comparisons did not achieve statistical significance. b Female multiple partners – female 0 or 1 partner, P=.022
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Crawford TV, McGrowder DA, Crawford A. Access to contraception by minors in Jamaica: a public health concern. North Am J Med Sci. 2009;1(5):247–255. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Longman-Mills S, Carpenter K. Interpersonal competence and sex risk behaviours among Jamaican adolescents. West Indian Med J. 2013;62(5):423–426. - PubMed
    1. Ishida K, Stupp P, McDonald O. Prevalence and correlates of sexual risk behaviors among Jamaican adolescents. Int Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2011;37(1):6–15. - PubMed
    1. Serbanescu F, Ruiz A, Suchdev D. National Family Planning Board Statistical Institute of Jamaica; United States Agency for International Development; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Reproductive Health. Reproductive health survey: Jamaica 2008 Final Report. 2010. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/8254.
    1. Bailey Althea. Situational Analysis of Sexual and Reproductive Health in Jamaica. Towards Policy Development. Jamaica National Family Planning Board; 2014.