BioMed Research International
Volume 2021 (2021), Article ID 5838510, 9 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5838510

Research Article

Early Sexual Debut among Ghanaian Women: Correlates and Psychological Effect

Abdul Rauf Alhassan,¹ Kasim Abdulai,² and Mohammed Awal Alhassan³

¹Department of Surgery, Tamale Teaching Hospital, P.O. Box TL 16, Tamale, Ghana
²Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
³Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Tamale Teaching Hospital, P.O. Box TL 16, Tamale, Ghana

Correspondence should be addressed to Abdul Rauf Alhassan; alhassana84@yahoo.com

Received 25 May 2021; Accepted 31 August 2021; Published 14 September 2021

Academic Editor: Arundhati Char

Copyright © 2021 Abdul Rauf Alhassan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract.

Early sexual initiation is linked to an increased risk of HIV/AIDS and other STIs among teenagers, as well as having multiple partners, not using contraception, unintended pregnancy, and illegal abortions. Aim. To identify the correlates and psychological effects of early sexual debut among not-in-union women in Ghana. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was used for this study using data from Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) for the year 2017/2018. SPSS software was used for data analysis, bivariate analysis for association was done using chi-square, and the prediction was done using a binary logistic regression model. The national prevalence of nonmarital early sexual initiation this current study recorded was 56.9%. Predictors variables were age, 15-24/≥35 years (, 1.28-1.78), ever educated (, 0.43-0.60), urban address (, 0.74-0.98), married/single (, 1.07-1.42), cohabitation/single (, 1.19-1.72), Greater Accra Region/Upper West Region (, 0.49-0.92), and health insurance (, 0.79-0.998). As the wealth indices of the woman decrease from the richest to poorest, the likelihood of early sexual debut inversely increases: fourth/richest (, 1.04-1.45), middle/richest (, 1.09-1.58), second/richest (, 1.11-1.72), and poorest/richest (, 1.12-1.86); use of the internet (, 0.50-068); substance use and alcohol ever use (, 1.17-1.49); cigarette ever use (, 1.44-4.64); contraceptive use (, 1.16-1.49); and ever heard of HIV (, 0.42-0.82). In conclusion, the prevalence of early sexual debut is still high in Ghana, especially among the northern regions. Several factors predicted early sex debut, and low life satisfaction and happiness were related to early sexual debut.

1. Introduction

Sub-Saharan African youth continue to be a high-risk population for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as HIV/AIDS [1–3]. As a result, it is critical to prioritize this population’s sexual and reproductive health, as they are the “window of hope” in the battle against the HIV/AIDS epidemic [2, 4]. This awareness has informed policies aimed at shielding young people from new infections through behavioral improvement initiatives in some nations, such as Ghana [1–3]. Early sexual initiation is also one of those focused behavioral modification areas.

The term “early sexual debut” commonly refers to having first sexual encounter before the age of 14 [5]. However, some works of literature have that early sexual initiation is sexual encounters that begin before the age of eighteen [6, 7]. Early sex initiation is often regarded as a risky sexual practice due to its negative consequences [6, 7]. In other words, early sexual initiation is linked to an increased risk of HIV/AIDS and other STIs among teenagers, as well as having multiple partners, not using contraception, unintended pregnancy, and illegal abortions [8]. Early sexual practice at a young age is a public health problem that is now widespread around the world, especially in developing countries [9]. Even though the age at sexual debut varies by location and by person, early adolescent sexual activity continues to be a problem with negative psychosocial and health consequences [10, 11].

One of the big predisposing factors that put youth at risk of HIV/AIDS is an early sexual start. Young people’s sexual initiation exposes them to a slew of negative sexual and reproductive health consequences [12]. Young people who start having sex at a younger age are more likely than those who do not to have numerous and simultaneous sex partners, transactional sex, unsafe sexual activity, and contract STIs like HIV [12, 13]. Early sexual activity has also been linked to an increased risk of unintended pregnancies and poor academic performance, especially among school-aged children [14].

Early sexual debut is common in African settings, with rates ranging from 26.8% in Nigeria to 55 percent in Ghana [15, 16]. For adolescents to remain sexually abstinent, a dynamic interplay of variables such as sociocultural, faith, parent, and child connectedness plays a major role in the timing of sexual initiation [17, 18]. In Turi et al.’s study factors such as region, substance use (e.g., ever chewed khat, , 95% CI: 1.47, 2.77; ever drank alcohol, , 95% CI: 1.35, 2.48) and not knowing about family planning (, 95% CI: 2.22, 8.99) were found to have statistically important associations with early sexual debut in teenage females, whereas ever educational history decreases the odds of early sex initiation. An increase in wealth index from the poorest was associated with a decreased chance of early sexual initiation [19]. In another study, women’s early sexual intercourse seems to be determined by substance use habits such as alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and khat chewing [6]. In a recent study community-level factors such as marriage, wealth, media exposure, and use of alcohol were influencers of early sexual debut in Ghana, Malawi, and Uganda [20].

Although various studies evaluating early initiation of sexual intercourse among youth have been conducted in Ghana, the majority of these studies are institution-based and concentrate on adolescents in school and university settings, except few such as that of Asante et al. [15]. Asante et al.’s study relied on data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey for sexually active youth aged 15 to 24, whereas this current study will rely on data from Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) sexually active women (15–49 years) focusing on nonmarital initial sexual activity. The study’s main aim is to identify the correlates and psychological effects of early sexual debut among not-in-union women in Ghana.

2. Materials and Methods

A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted using data from the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2017/18. From October 2017 to January 2018, the Ghana Statistical Service surveyed with the assistance of partners such as the Ministry of Health; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources; Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection; Ghana Health Service; and Ghana Education Service. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) provided technical assistance, and the Statistics for Results Facility–Catalytic Fund provided financial support to UNICEF, KOICA, UNDP, USAID, and the World Bank (SRF-CF).

The sampling frame was the 2010 Ghanaian Population and Housing Census (PHC). All women between the ages of 15 and 49 who were either permanent residents or tourists who stayed in selected households the night before the survey (14609) were included.

2.1. Statistical Analysis

The findings were analyzed using SPSS version 20. (IBM Corp., 2011, NY). Tables with frequencies and percentages were used to explain the effects of categorical variables. The relationship between the dependent and independent variables was determined using the chi-square test. The predictor variables of early sexual initiation were identified using a binary logistic regression model. The statistical significance of the analysis was set at a value of 0.05. The early sexual debut was done excluding those women who never had sexual intercourse and those with initial sexual activity from union (marriage or cohabitation).

2.2. Ethical Consideration

UNICEF’s MICS team accepted the protocol for using the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2017/18 dataset for this study. There was no need for ethical approval since this analysis required a secondary examination of a dataset without disclosing the participants’ and their households’ identities.

3. Results

3.1. Sociodemographic Characteristics of Study Participants

The majority of the study participants (40.6%) were between the ages of 15 and 24, and the majority (51.2%) were from rural areas. In terms of marriage, less than half of the respondents (43.5%) were married. More (13.8%) of the participants came from the Ashanti Region, with the Akan tribe accounting for 38.2% of the total. Health insurance coverage was only 56.7% among the study participants. A significant number (35.1%) of the women had a history of alcohol intake, about 92.9% of them ever heard of HIV/AIDS, and the majority (85.4%) had never used the internet. (Tables 1 and 2).

Table 1: Socioeconomic factors of the respondents.

Frequency
Percentage

Age group
15-24 years
5836
40.6%

25-34 years
3837
26.7%

35 years and above
4701
32.7%

Ever attended school
Yes
11283
78.5%

No
3091
21.5%

Area
Urban
7134
48.8%

Rural
7475
51.2%

Marital status
Married
6246
43.5%

Cohabitation
1655
11.5%

Single
6473
45.0%

Region
Western
1350
9.2%

Central
1319
9.0%

Greater Accra
1830
12.5%

Volta
1303
8.9%

Eastern
1440
9.9%

Ashanti
2022
13.8%

Brong Ahafo
1323
9.1%

Northern
1499
10.3%

Upper East
1170
8.0%

Upper West
1353
9.3%

Ethnicity
Akan
5577
38.2%

GA/Dangme
1142
7.8%

Ewe
1758
12.0%

Guan
513
3.5%

Gruma
600
4.1%

Mole Dagbani
3212
22.0%

Grusi
598
4.1%

Mande
73
0.5%

Other
1131
7.7%

Health insurance
With insurance
8152
56.7%

Without insurance
6222
43.3%

Functional difficulties (age 18-49 years)
Has functional difficulty
1125
9.0%

Has no functional difficulty
11403
91.0%

Wealth index quintile
Poorest
3383
23.5%

Second
2412
16.8%

Middle
2680
18.6%

Fourth
2720
18.9%

Richest
3179
22.1%

Table 2: Other exposure factors.

Frequency
Percentage

Frequency of watching TV
Not at all
4623
32.2%

Less than once a week
1473
10.2%

At least once a week
2321
16.1%

Almost every day
5957
41.4%

Ever used internet
Yes
2005
14.6%

No
11713
85.4%

Ever taken alcohol
Yes
5040
35.1%

No
9334
64.9%

Ever tried cigarette smoking
Yes
130
0.9%

No
14244
99.1%

Ever used a contraceptive method to avoid pregnancy
Yes
2367
20.7%

No
9079
79.3%

Ever circumcised
Yes
672
6.4%

No
9787
93.6%

Ever heard of HIV or AIDS
Yes
13353
92.9%

No
1020
7.1%

3.2. Prevalence of Early Sexual Initiation among Ghanaian Women

The national prevalence of nonmarital early sexual initiation this current study recorded was 56.9%, and in terms of regional prevalence, the highest (66.6%) prevalence was recorded in the Northern Region (now Northern, Savanna, and Northeast regions) and the lowest (39.7%) prevalence was recorded in the Greater Accra Region (Table 3). Chi-square analysis resulted in a significant relationship between early sexual debut and all independent factors included in this study () (Tables 4 and 5).

Table 3: Prevalence of nonmarital early sexual debut in Ghana among women.

Early sexual debut

No
Yes

Region
Western
457
41.4%
646
58.6%

Central
463
43.2%
608
56.8%

Greater Accra
866
60.3%
569
39.7%

Volta
399
35.6%
722
64.4%

Eastern
497
41.8%
691
58.2%

Ashanti
790
49.7%
801
50.3%

Brong Ahafo
472
43.7%
607
56.3%

Northern
358
33.4%
713
66.6%

Upper East
299
36.4%
522
63.6%

Upper West
335
34.4%
638
65.6%

Total

4936
43.1%
6517
56.9%

Table 4: Chi-square association between socioeconomic factors and early sex debut.

Early sexual debut

value

NO
YES

Age group
15- 24 years
1230
2246
143.763
≤0.001

25-34 years
1769
1813

35 years and above
1937
2458

Ever attended school
Yes
4151
4606
281.032
≤0.001

No
785
1911

Area
Urban
2888
2638
365.675
≤0.001

Rural
2048
3879

Marital status
Married
2483
3318
30.666
≤0.001

Cohabitation
613
1013

Single
1840
2186

Region
Western
457
646
315.567
≤0.001

Central
463
608

Greater Accra
866
569

Volta
399
722

Eastern
497
691

Ashanti
790
801

Brong Ahafo
472
607

Northern
358
713

Upper East
299
522

Upper West
335
638

Ethnicity
Akan
2115
2429
112.867
≤0.001

Ga/Dangme
458
475

Ewe
661
799

Guan
133
282

Gruma
144
324

Mole Dagbani
898
1406

Grusi
154
263

Mande
20
34

Other
351
504

Health insurance
Yes
3016
3538
53.266
≤0.001

No
1920
2979

Functional difficulties (age 18-49 years)
Yes
402
597
9.316
0.002

No
4534
5480

Wealth index quintile
Poorest
760
1819
676.189
≤0.001

Second
688
1310

Middle
874
1307

Fourth
1055
1157

Richest
1559
924

Table 5: Chi-square association between other exposure factors and early sexual debut.

Early sexual debut

value

No
Yes

Frequency of watching TV
Not at all
1243
2383
212.409
≤0.001

Less than once a week
461
670

At least once a week
765
993

Almost every day
2467
2471

Ever used internet
Yes
967
597
305.442
≤0.001

No
3615
5822

Ever taken alcohol
Yes
1876
2657
8.972
0.003

No
3060
3860

Ever tried cigarette smoking
Yes
42
83
4.649
0.031

No
4894
6434

Ever used a method to avoid pregnancy
Yes
948
1312
7.097
0.008

No
2882
3496

Ever circumcised
Yes
166
387
64.823
≤0.001

No
3701
4059

Ever heard of HIV or AIDS
Yes
4745
5953
104.427
≤0.001

No
191
564

3.3. Predictors of Early Sexual Debut among Study Participants

At the bivariate level of analysis, all independent variables were significantly associated with the early sexual debut and hence were further modeled using a binary logistic regression model to identify predictors of early sexual debut. Table 6 presents estimates of the effects of selected predictors on the odds () of reporting early sexual debut among the respondents.

Table 6: Binary logistic regression for predictors of early sexual debut.

Sig.
AOR
95% C.I. for AOR

Lower
Upper

≥35 years

0.000

15-24 years
0.409
0.000
1.506
1.280
1.771

25-34 years
-0.045
0.523
0.956
0.834
1.097

Ever attended school (yes/no)
-0.686
0.000
0.503
0.426
0.595

Area (urban/rural)
-0.159
0.029
0.853
0.740
0.984

Single

0.000

Married
0.209
0.003
1.232
1.072
1.416

Cohabitation
0.359
0.000
1.431
1.192
1.718

Upper West

0.001

Western
0.083
0.603
1.087
0.794
1.487

Central
-0.007
0.968
0.993
0.716
1.378

Greater Accra
-0.398
0.012
0.672
0.492
0.916

Volta
0.196
0.295
1.217
0.843
1.757

Eastern
-0.082
0.619
0.921
0.666
1.274

Ashanti
-0.041
0.783
0.960
0.719
1.283

Brong Ahafo
-0.138
0.386
0.871
0.639
1.189

Northern
-0.060
0.680
0.942
0.708
1.253

Upper East
0.201
0.137
1.223
0.938
1.595

Other tribes

0.223

Akan
0.038
0.748
1.039
0.822
1.314

GA/Dangme
-0.058
0.703
0.943
0.700
1.272

Ewe
-0.150
0.336
0.861
0.634
1.168

Guan
0.158
0.428
1.171
0.793
1.730

Gruma
0.258
0.186
1.294
0.883
1.895

Mole Dagbani
-0.147
0.254
0.863
0.671
1.111

Grusi
0.039
0.833
1.040
0.724
1.492

Mande
0.106
0.794
1.112
0.500
2.473

Health insurance (yes/no)
-0.118
0.046
0.889
0.792
0.998

Disability (yes/no)
0.046
0.648
1.047
0.860
1.275

Richest

0.022

Poorest
0.367
0.005
1.443
1.117
1.863

Second
0.322
0.005
1.380
1.105
1.724

Middle
0.271
0.005
1.311
1.085
1.584

Fourth
0.204
0.017
1.227
1.038
1.450

Watch TV almost every day

0.490

Not at all
-0.107
0.222
0.899
0.758
1.067

Less than once a week
-0.031
0.756
0.969
0.795
1.182

At least once a week
0.042
0.616
1.043
0.885
1.228

Ever used internet (yes/no)
-0.542
0.000
0.582
0.495
0.683

Alcohol ever use (yes/no)
0.278
0.000
1.320
1.173
1.486

Cigarette ever use (yes/no)
0.948
0.002
2.580
1.435
4.640

Ever use contraceptive (yes/no)
0.272
0.000
1.313
1.159
1.488

Done FGM (yes/no)
0.199
0.145
1.221
0.933
1.596

Ever heard of HIV (yes/no)
-0.531
0.002
0.588
0.419
0.824

The age of the woman at the time of the interview predicted history of early sex debut. Women of the age group 15-24 years were 1.5 times more likely to have experienced early sexual debut as compared to women of the age group 35 years and above (, 95%, -1.78).

Women with a history of education (ever attended school) were 0.5 times more likely to have experienced early sexual debut as compared with women with zero histories of education (, 95%, -0.60). Women with residence in urban areas were 15% less likely to have engaged in early sexual debut as compared to those from rural areas (, 95%, -0.98). At the time of the survey, women in union relationships (marriage or cohabitation) predicted a history of early sexual debut. Those married were likely about 1.2 times to have experienced early child debut as compared to those who were single (, 95%, -1.42). Also, those in cohabitation relationships were likely about 1.4 times to have experienced early sexual debut as compared to those women who were single (, 95%, -1.72). From regional prediction, the early sexual debut was 33% less likely for women from the Greater Accra Region when compared to women from the Upper West Region (, 95%, -0.92). In terms of health, women with health insurance were likely about 0.9 times to have experienced early sexual debut (, 95%, -0.998). The economic status of the woman is implicated in the prediction of early sexual debut. As the wealth indices of the woman decreases from the richest to poorest, the likelihood of early sexual debut inversely increases: fourth/richest (, 95%, -1.45), middle/richest (, 95%, -1.58), second/richest (, 95%, -1.72), and poorest/richest (, 95%, -1.86). The use of the internet was a protective variable in the study as those with a history of internet use were 42% less likely to have engaged in early sexual debut (, 95%, -068). History of substance use (alcohol and cigarettes) predicted early sexual debut. Those with alcohol ever use were 1.3 times more likely to have engaged in early sexual debut (, 95%, -1.49), and those with cigarette ever use were 2.6 times more likely to have engaged in early sexual debut (, 95%, -4.64). Those with a history of contraceptive use were 1.3 times more likely to have engaged in early sexual debut (, 95%, -1.49). Women who ever heard of HIV were 41% less likely to have engaged in early sexual debut (, 95%, -0.82).

3.4. The Psychological Effect of Early Sexual Debut

Participant life satisfaction was done using the score of the life satisfaction ladder step (numbered from 0 to 10), where 0 represented the lowest life satisfaction and 10 the highest level of satisfaction. Different levels of life satisfaction were specified based on recommendations from the HBSC protocol (http://www.hbsc.org), and similar papers: those with a low score of 0–6, were classified as unsatisfied, and those with an average score of 7–8 and high scores of 9–10 were classified as satisfied. And with the estimation of overall happiness, respondents were asked would you say you are (1) very happy, (2) somewhat happy, (3) neither happy nor unhappy, (4) somewhat unhappy, and (5) very unhappy? Those with responses of very happy and somewhat happy were classified as happy, and those with responses of neither happy nor unhappy, somewhat unhappy, and very unhappy were classified as unhappy.

This study further identified a significant relationship between overall life satisfaction and early sexual debut. Those without a history of the early sexual debut were more likely about 7% to be satisfied with life as compared to those with early sexual debut history (, 95% C.I. 1.02-1.12). And in terms of overall life happiness, those without a history of the early sexual debut were more likely about 4% to be happy with life as compared to those with early sexual debut history (, 95% C.I. 1.01-1.06) (Table 7).

Table 7: Early nonmarital sexual debut and overall life satisfaction and happiness.

Overall life satisfaction
OR (C.I.)
value

Satisfied
Not satisfied

Early sexual debut
No
1899
3029

0.01

38.5%
61.5%
1.07 (1.02-1.12)

Yes
2353
4153

36.2%
63.8%

Overall life happiness
OR (C.I.)
value

Happy
Unhappy

Early sexual debut
No
3750
1186

0.01

76.0%
24.0%
1.04 (1.01-1.06)

Yes
4778
1739

73.3%
26.7%

4. Discussion

Early sexual debut is common in African settings, with rates ranging from 26.8% in Nigeria to 55 percent in Ghana [15, 16]. In this current study, the national prevalence of nonmarital early sexual initiation this current study recorded was 56.9% and in terms of regional prevalence, the highest (66.6%) prevalence was recorded in the Northern Region (now Northern, Savanna, and Northeast regions) and the lowest (39.7%) prevalence was recorded in the Greater Accra Region.

At the bivariate level of analysis, all independent variables were significantly associated with the early sexual debut and hence were further modeled using a binary logistic regression model to identify predictors of early sexual debut. The age of the woman at the time of the interview predicted history of early sex debut. Women of the age group 15-24 years were likely about 1.5 times to have experienced early sexual debut as compared to women of the age group 35 years and above. Also, in a similar study, the odds of earlier sexual debut history were higher among women of age group 15-19 years as compared to those above 19 years [15].

Also, women with a history of education (ever attended school) were only likely about 0.5 times to present with a history of early sexual debut as compared with women with zero history education. Similar to Asante et al.’s study, females with no formal education and those with only a basic education were more likely to make an early sexual debut [15]. Early sexual activity has also been linked to an increased risk of unintended pregnancies and poor academic performance, especially among school-aged children [14].

From regional prediction, the early sexual debut was 33% less likely for women from the Greater Accra Region when compared to women from the Upper West Region. Also, similar to Turi et al.’s study, region of the respondents was found to have statistically important associations with an early sexual debut [19]. And women residing in urban areas were 15% less likely to engage in early sexual debut as compared to those from rural areas, and this was confirmed by Asante et al.’s study that women in rural areas had chances of engaging in early sexual debut as compared to those from rural areas [15]. It has also been suggested that young adults from less-affluent backgrounds believe they have fewer opportunities in life and may lack the educational, job, and leisure motivator compared to those in urban areas [21, 22].

It is documented that females with access to modern contraceptives are more likely to engage in sexual activities, which may have affected earlier sexual debut activity. Also, in this present study, those with a history of contraceptive use were likely about 1.3 times to have engaged in early sexual debut, and women with health insurance were likely 0.9 times to engage in early sexual debut. Internet access is a source of entertainment and information, and in this study, use of the internet was a protective variable study as those with a history of internet use were 42% less likely to have engaged in early sexual debut. The risk of an early sexual debut is found to be increased when people had only limited access to the media, and this risk was found to be higher in rural areas [15].

In a recent multicenter study, community-level factors such as marriage were identified as an influencer of early sex debut in Ghana, Malawi, and Uganda [20]. And in this current study, at the time of the survey, women in union relationships (marriage or cohabitation) predicted history of early sexual debut. Those married were about 1.2 times more likely to have experienced early child debut as compared to those who were single. Also, those in cohabitation relationships were likely about 1.4 times to present the history of early sexual debut as compared to those women who were single. However, this study isolated early marriage as a factor of early sex debut.

Individuals who have their first sexual experience at a young age are more likely to participate in risky activities that put them at risk of contracting STIs or HIV. Early sexual debutants are more likely to have a history of STIs and have a higher risk profile, which includes having multiple sex partners, inconsistent condom usage, pay for sex, a history of sexual harassment, and teenage pregnancy [23]. Maybe, this explains the reason why in this present study, women who ever heard of HIV were 41% less likely to have engaged in early sexual debut.

The economic status of the woman is implicated in the prediction of early sexual debut. As the wealth indices of the woman decrease from the richest to poorest, the likelihood of early sexual debut inversely increases. This is in line with earlier studies which also found household rich wealth status as a protective factor for early sex debut in Ghana [12, 15].

History of substance use (alcohol and cigarette) predicted early sexual debut. Those with alcohol ever use were more likely about 1.3 times to engage in early sexual debut, and those with cigarette ever use were likely about 2.6 times to engage in early sexual debut. In another study, women’s early sexual intercourse seems to be determined by substance use habits such as alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and khat chewing [6].

Early adolescent sexual activity continues to be a problem with negative psychosocial and health consequences [10, 11]. The strongest link is discovered in the youngest individuals, with depressed people nearly five times more likely than nondepressed individuals to have had intercourse [24]. And in this present study, in terms of overall life happiness, those without a history of the early sexual debut were more likely about 4% to be happy with life as compared to those with early sexual debut history. Also, this study further identified a significant relationship between overall life satisfaction and early sexual debut. Those without a history of the early sexual debut were more likely about 7% to be satisfied with life as compared to those with early sexual debut history. Negative emotional responses to first sexual encounters may also be influenced by psychological factors such as regret or a lack of readiness, which are more common in people who initiate sexual activity early than their on-time initiating peers [25].

Since the research relied on secondary data for interpretation, not all factors related to the subject were examined.

5. Conclusion

The prevalence of early sexual debut is still higher in Ghana, especially among the northern regions. Several factors predicted early sex debut, and low life satisfaction and happiness were related to early sexual debut. There is a need for policy enforcement to promote female education and reduce poverty.

Data Availability

All data related to the findings of this study are available from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) website upon request.

Conflicts of Interest

There is no conflict of interest associated with this submission.

Funding

Funding for this study was accomplished by the authors without any outside funding.

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