Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Reprod. Health
Sec. Adolescent Reproductive Health and Well-being
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frph.2024.1491617

The magnitude of casual sex and associated factors among students at Debre Berhan University

Provisionally accepted
Tsega Mathewos Tsega Mathewos 1Esubalew Tesfahun Esubalew Tesfahun 2Muluken Tessema Aemiro Muluken Tessema Aemiro 2Tadesse Mamo Dejene Tadesse Mamo Dejene 3*
  • 1 Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  • 2 Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Health Informatics, School of Public Health, Asrat Woldeyes Health Science Campus, Debre Berhan University, Debre Birhan, Ethiopia, Dere Birhan, Ethiopia
  • 3 Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Asrat Woldeyes Health Science Campus, Debre Berhan University, Debre Birhan, Ethiopia, Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: -Today's youth are adopting a new trend: casual sex. College students are expected to engage in a range of potentially harmful sexual activities, such as casual sex. Numerous factors can lead students to engage in casual sexual encounters. However, there has been limited research on the prevalence of casual sex and related issues in higher education institutions in Ethiopia.To assess the prevalence of casual sex and its associated factors among regular undergraduate students at Debre Berhan University in 2023.-From May 15, 2023, to May 30, 2023, regular undergraduate students from Debre Berhan University participated in a cross-sectional study. A total of 512 samples were collected using a multistage sampling technique. Subsequently, a simple random sampling technique was employed to select the students, with a proportionate allocation of samples distributed to randomly selected colleges, departments, and academic years. The data were collected using a structured, pretested, and self-administered questionnaire. Once the data were imported into Epi-data version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis, frequencies, percentages, and tables were generated. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify characteristics associated with casual sex.The prevalence of casual sex among regular undergraduate students at Debre Berhan University was 31.0% 95 % CI (27.2-34.6). Several factors were significantly associated with casual sex. These included students from urban areas [AOR: 2.95; 95% CI (1.66-5.24)], students with poor academic performance [AOR: 2.81; 95% CI (1.51-5.22)], alcohol consumption [AOR: 4.59; 95% CI (2.60-8.12)], attending nightclubs [AOR: 2.75; 95% CI (1.47-5.16)], watching pornography [AOR: 2.59; 95% CI (1.47-5.16)], and peer pressure [AOR: 2.24; 95% CI (1.38-3.65)].The prevalence of casual sex was high among Debre Berhan University students. In order to lessen the negative effects of casual sex practices, this study found predictors that can be avoided through various interventions. Key preventative measures include improving student academic performance, providing engaging and free entertainment, restricting access to pornographic websites on university Wi-Fi, and employing peer educators.

    Keywords: casual sex, Students, Debre Berhan University, Associated factors, Ethiopia

    Received: 05 Sep 2024; Accepted: 02 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Mathewos, Tesfahun, Aemiro and Dejene. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Tadesse Mamo Dejene, Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Asrat Woldeyes Health Science Campus, Debre Berhan University, Debre Birhan, Ethiopia, Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.