Sexual Behavior and Its Associated Factors among Male College Youths of Pokhara, Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: Young people are the important group for addressing sexual and reproductive health of Nepal as the proportion of youth is nearly a fifth of the total population. The issue of youth’s sexual behavior and its consequences is a concern for every generation and it is likely to continue to be a challenge in the future. The study aimed to assess the sexual behavior and its associated factors among male college youths of Pokhara, Nepal.

Methods: An institution based cross sectional study was conducted among the 801 male youths of 16 colleges of Pokhara metropolitan. Probability proportional to size sampling was used as sampling strategy. A structured, pretested and sealed self-administered questionnaire was distributed among the 967 participants. The association between sexual behavior and the explanatory variables were assessed using chi square test and multivariate logistic regression.

Results: The study revealed that the substantial proportion (45.1%) of the male college youths had indulged in sexual intercourse. Nearly two third (60.4%) of the sexually active respondents had two or more than two partners. Similarly,more than half (51.61%) of those who were involved in sexual intercourse with commercial sex worker had not used condom at an every act of sexual intercourse. Age of the respondents (AOR=3.20, 95% CI; 1.06-9.66), permanent residence (AOR=2.38,95% CI;1.55-3.68), living arrangement (AOR=1.71 ,95% CI; 1.13-2.58) and dependent for income (AOR= 0.39,95% CI; 0.24-0.63) were significantly associated with having sexual intercourse.

Conclusions: The younger male college youths living with friends, relatives or alone in temporary residences were sexually more active than their counterparts.