title: Premarital sexual experience and preferred sources of reproductive health information among young men in Kumbotso, northern Nigeria.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite well known risks associated with unprotected premarital sex, this phenomenon has not been well explored among young men in rural northern Nigeria. We studied the predictors of premarital sex and preferred sources of sexual and reproductive health information among young unmarried men in Kumbotso, northern Nigeria.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross section of 400 young men were interviewed using structured questionnaires with mostly closed ended questions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 385 respondents, 39 (10.1%) were sexually experienced. Less than half of respondents (48.7%) used a condom at sexual debut, and an equal proportion reported having multiple sex partners. Only 41.0% of sexually experienced respondents reported subsequent consistent condom use Age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 4.12; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.24-5.20 and educational attainment [AOR = 3.57; 95% CI (1.49-9.10)] were significant predictors of sexual experience. The current versus preferred sources of sexual and reproductive health information included friends (51.3% vs. 93.3%), Islamic school teachers (41.0% vs. 72.7%) and school teachers (8.8% vs. 15.1%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the prevalence of premarital sex among young men in this community in northern Nigeria as low, those that did engage in such activity were likely to not use condoms and to have multiple partners. Preferred and trusted sources of information included peers and religious leaders. The findings in this study could be used to develop innovative strategies for reaching young men with accurate sexual and reproductive health information.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital & Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. ziliyasu@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Iliyasu
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zubairu
authors.forename: I S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Abubakar
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Isa
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Galadanci
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Hadiza
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Babam Maryam
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Babam-Maryam
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Aliyu
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Muktar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria; D012736:Sex Education; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D055815:Young Adult