Understanding teen sex in Bangladesh: Results from Global School Health Survey 2014

Objective: Absent sexual education amid a culture of sexual repression, unmarried youth of Bangladesh have sex, as they do all over the world. But, given lack of resources and institutional support for teens who have sex, particularly outside of marriage, they are vulnerable to a variety of concerns: reproductive and sexual health problems, sexual violence, and emotional and psychological harm. In this study, we examine factors that predict teen sex among a sample of school students as a way to identify teens who are potentially in need of sexual and mental health services. Methods: Using the 2014 Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS) for Bangladesh we conducted a logistic regression to estimate whether socio demographic factors (age, gender, grade), psychological health (suicidality) and social ties (social support, friends, parental involvement, missing school) predict teen sex. Results: We estimate that 9.11% of Bangladeshi students between ages 11 and 17 years have had sexual intercourse. In examining predictors of teen sex, our findings suggest that male students were more likely to have sex, as were older students. Teens who missed school without permission to do so were much more likely to have sex. Greater school social support, having a friend, nor a history of suicidality predicted sexual intercourse history. Greater education and parental involvement showed moderately negative relationships. Conclusion: In identifying the frequency and characteristics of teens who report having sex, we suggest the incorporation of sex education in schools as well as in community settings given teens who have sex are more likely to miss school than their counterparts.