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Sexual Debut Among Heterosexual Men of African and Caribbean Descent: Are the Youth Initiating Sex Earlier than the Older Generation?

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Abstract

Although age at first sex is considered a measure of sexual risk and vulnerability for HIV infection, there is a dearth of literature on age at sexual debut in the Canadian context. This study examined time variations to first sex among heterosexual African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) men in four Ontarian cities. A population-based retrospective survey (n = 879) on timing to first sexual intercourse was conducted between 2018 and 2019 among self-identified heterosexual ACB men 16 years or older and residing in London, Ottawa, Toronto or Windsor. We used the lognormal survival analysis technique to examine variations in time to first sexual intercourse among age cohorts and between cities. The findings showed a generational shift in the pattern of sexual initiation, with younger heterosexual ACB men initiating sexual intercourse earlier compared with those currently older than 50 years. We observed those between 16 and 19 years, 20 and 29 years, and 30 and 39 years of age to have significantly higher risk ratios of TR = 0.852, TR = 0.869, and TR = 0.855, respectively. At city level, the results show marked spatial variations, with youth in cities of Toronto, Ottawa, and London at the highest risk of early sexual debut relative to those in Windsor. Early initiation of first sexual intercourse among heterosexual ACB youth was observed with those in the larger cities being at a relatively higher risk. There is the need for programs aimed at delaying sexual debut among youth in general. It is, however, important to recognize the relative risk of those in the larger cities.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Ontario HIV Treatment Network for the financial commitment. We are also very grateful to the weSpeak participants for their desire and willingness to participate in this study.

Funding

The weSpeak study was funded by the Ontario HIV Treatment Network under the Grant No. #1052 and the Canadian Institute of Health Research under Grant No. #FRN 138354.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Western University, London, ON, N6A 3K7, Canada

    Irenius Konkor, Roger Antabe & Isaac Luginaah

  2. Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Paul Mkandawire

  3. Ontario HIV Treatment Network, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Winston Husbands

  4. Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Josephine Wong

  5. Department of Women’s Studies, Western University, London, ON, Canada

    Erica Lawson

  6. Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Josephine Etowa

  7. Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada

    Francisca Omorodion

  8. Regional HIV/AIDS Connection, London, ON, Canada

    Martin D. McIntosh

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  1. Irenius Konkor
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  2. Paul Mkandawire
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  3. Roger Antabe
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  4. Isaac Luginaah
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  5. Winston Husbands
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  6. Josephine Wong
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  7. Erica Lawson
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  8. Josephine Etowa
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  9. Francisca Omorodion
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  10. Martin D. McIntosh
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Correspondence to Irenius Konkor.

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All procedures performed in study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was conducted in four cities and ethical clearance was obtained from the Research Ethical Boards of participating universities in the four different cities.

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Konkor, I., Mkandawire, P., Antabe, R. et al. Sexual Debut Among Heterosexual Men of African and Caribbean Descent: Are the Youth Initiating Sex Earlier than the Older Generation?. Arch Sex Behav 50, 2359–2369 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01855-z

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