Early Sexual Debut in Karu, Nigeria: A Mixed-Methods Approach to Understanding Prevalence and Its Determinants Among Female Adolescents

Background: Early sexual debut among adolescents poses significant physical, social and mental health consequences. Despite increasing concern, limited data exist on its prevalence and determinants among female secondary school students in Karu Local Government Area. Objective: This study assessed students’ perceptions of early sexual debut, the proportion, prevalence, characteristics, and determinants of early sexual initiation. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 5 public and 5 private schools using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. 265 female students (SS1-SS3) were selected through multistage sampling. Quantitative data was collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed with SPSS version 27 (descriptive statistics and ANOVA/Chi-Square), while qualitative data were thematically analyzed using NVivo. Results: 12.8% of students were sexually active, with 17.6% reporting early sexual debut. 70.6% of sexual encounters occurred with friends, and 64.7% were influenced by coercion, alcohol, or peers. Students perceived early sexual debut negatively. Major determinants included peer pressure, poor parenting, exposure to pornography, low self-esteem, and socio-economic challenges. There was significant association between prevalence of early sexual debut and types of school (public vs private) (p = 0.017). However, no significant association was found between sexual debut and students’ age (p = 0.535) or family type (p = 0.989). Conclusion: Early sexual debut prevalence is a concern and being in public school is more associated with early sexual debut than private highlighting the need for comprehensive sexuality programs. More studies are needed to unravel the main factors exposing students to early sexual debut in public schools.