Pre marriage sexual practices and associated factors among students at Woldia University, north eastern Ethiopia

Students are vulnerable to various cultural, social, economic and peer burdens that pushes them into pre marriage sexual practices. Thus, the present study aimed to assess pre marriage sexual practices and associated factors among students at Woldia University, North East Ethiopia. Institutional based cross-sectional survey was conducted from March 2021 to May 2021. The samples of 324 students was included in the study and selected through multistage sampling technique. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to check the relationship among the dependent and independent variables. Several factors such as being male [(AOR=2.593, 95%CI = (1.262-5.328)], not attending religious education [(AOR = 1.229, 95%CI = (3.581 - 9.528)], living together with parents [(AOR= 0.010, 95%CI = (0.003 - 0.040)] and friends or relatives [(AOR= 0.024, 95%CI = (0.006-0.094)] and inadequate pocket money [AOR = 11.321, 95%CI = (3.672-21.340)], low academic performance [AOR = 5.112, 95%CI = (10.130-24.469)], and no discussion about sex related issues with parents [AOR = 1.310,95%CI = (1.980-14.629)] showed significant associations with pre marriage sexual practices. Pre marriage sexual practice among students' was higher. Therefore, efforts have to be made on the family and students' behavioral change; Sex education sessions towards risky sexual behavior and reproductive health matters are imperative to students and the community at large. Further study should also be done to identify the prevalence and risk of pre marriage sexual intercourse among adolescents out of the school or in a larger community.