CONTEXT Despite restrictive social norms, there is increasing evidence that youth in India engage in premarital romantic and sexual partnerships. However, information on how they initiate and build these relationships is scarce, even though it is vital for addressing the needs of young people. METHODS Attitudes toward and behavior within romantic partnerships were examined using data collecte...

This paper presents the differences in family interaction and parenting behaviours and their influence on sexual intention among male and female youths aged 18 to 22 years. The results presented are based on data collected from unmarried college students in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Despite being in a country where premarital sexual activity is not an accepted behaviour, 18% of the 422 male and 1...

Shelley Clark, Alissa Koski, Emily Smith-Greenaway Age at first marriage has been rising throughout sub-Saharan Africa for more than twenty-five years. The median age at first marriage has increased by an average of 1-2 years across the region but substantial variation in age at first marriage remains (Garenne 2004). In some western and eastern African countries including Burkina Faso, Guinea, ...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study is to assess attitudes toward premarital dating and sexual encounters in individuals aged 15-49 years in Tehran. METHODS Utilizing the attitudes section of an original cross-sectional study (n = 755) aimed at assessing sexual health needs of adults, this paper examined personal attitudes towards premarital dating, non-sexual relationships and sexual encoun...

CONTEXT Little evidence is available from India concerning young people's use of condoms in premarital relationships. METHODS Data from a subnationally representative study of Indian youth conducted in 2006-2008 were used to assess condom use in premarital relationships. Analyses used survey data from 2,408 married or unmarried youth aged 15-24 who had had premarital sex, and qualitative data...

BACKGROUND Unhealthy premarital sex behavior leads to several health problems namely; sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), Human Immune Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), unwanted pregnancies, abortions and maternal deaths. Unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions are rampant in Nepal despite introduction of legal provision for safe abortion since 2003. Lately, unsafe s...

BACKGROUND This paper aims to examine the reproductive health and behaviors which might expose young people at risks of STIs/HIV and potential correlates of such behaviors among female college students in Tehran. METHODS This paper focuses on the study conducted on a sample of 1743 female undergraduate students in four multidisciplinary universities in Tehran during 2005- 2006 using a two-sta...

The paper investigates the complex relationships between premarital fertility and HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan African countries. The DHS surveys provided data to compute the prevalence of premarital fertility, defined as any birth before the first marriage. The UNAIDS database provided data to compute the prevalence of HIV infection among pregnant women. Results indicate a moderate association betw...