Transitions in Adolescent Boys and Young Men’s High-Risk Sexual Behaviour in India

Abstract Background: The sexual behaviour of adolescents is of importance due to the engagement in risky sexual activity at a too early age, which may be associated with the adverse outcomes. The study aims to understand the transitions in adolescent boys and young men’s high-risk sexual behaviour in India using two rounds of Indian demographic health survey, NFHS-3 (2005-06) and NFHS-4 (2015-16). Methods: A total of 25,538 in NFHS-3 (2005-06) and 35,112 in NFHS-4 (2015-16) men were considered for the analysis. Men have been divided into two age groups as 15-19 years (adolescent) and 20-24 (young men) for comparison purposes. Descriptive and multivariate statistics have been used. Results: Overall, high-risk sexual behaviour has increased among adolescent boys (64% to 70%) and young men (18% to 27%) from 2005-06 to 2015-16. The trend of live-in relationship has increased among adolescent boys of rural areas (0.6% to 6.0%) as well as in urban areas (3.1% to 10.9%) over the last ten years. Adolescent boys having 10 th and above years of schooling (AOR=1.98; p<0.01), residing in urban areas (AOR=2.23; p<0.01), and belonging to the affluent class of households (AOR=1.41; p<0.05) were more likely to engage in high-risk sexual activity than the young men in India. The odds of high-risk sexual behaviour was higher among alcohol-using adolescent boys (AOR= 1.82; p<0.01) and young men (AOR=2.38; p<0.01) in 2015-16. Conclusions: The study concludes that early sexual debut, lower prevalence of condom use at first sexual experience, tendency of live-in-relationship, and alcohol consumption indicate the hazardous interconnection between such behaviours among adolescent boys over the last decade which put them at higher-risky sexual behaviour as compared to young men. Adolescent’ sexual behaviours have both short-term and long-term consequences, and interventions that focus on multiple domains of risk may be the most effective in helping to promote broad reproductive health among young adults.