Do initiation rites hasten sexual debut among adolescent girls? A longitudinal analysis from Ghana

Many Ghanaians identify their country's most enduring female initiation rite as a risk factor for early sexual debut, claiming that initiates interpret the rite as a normative starting point for sexual activity as was standard in the past. However, the assumption that African initiation rites may hasten sexual debut has not been statistically substantiated. This study explores this association using three waves of longitudinal data collected between 2010 to 2013 from 690 girls and young women aged 12-19, about half of whom had participated in the rite. The results suggest that initiates typically participate in the rite at age 11 and begin having sex around age 16, about six months earlier than non-initiates. Results from survival analyses correspondingly indicate that initiates are 50% more likely to report sexual debut than their non-initiated counterparts. This relationship remains robust when accounting for confounding variables and reverse causality and is not moderated by socioeconomic status. Findings suggest that initiation rites should be understood as having potentially meaningful implications for adolescent sexual debut and sexual and reproductive health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. Capitalising on initiation rites for their role in sexual socialisation may be a valuable opportunity to promote sexual and reproductive health among youth.