The influence of transition events on the sexual initiation of Filipino youth

Maria Paz N. Marquez, University of the Philippines

The transition to adulthood is marked by a series of interrelated events which may either facilitate or delay the transition to sexual activity. This study explores the influence of these transition events (namely, home-leaving, school-leaving, employment, and initiation to smoking, drinking and drug use, and exposure to pornographic materials) on the timing of sexual initiation of young Filipinos using data drawn from the nationally-representative 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Survey of nearly 20,000 Filipinos 15-27 years old. Multinomial logistic regression is used to predict the timing of sexual onset (either early, late or no sexual experience) with selected socioeconomic characteristics of the youth and the timing of these transition events as explanatory variables. Results indicate that delay of onset of sexual activity could be achieved if precursor events such as home-leaving, exposure to pornographic materials and substance use are postponed to a later age or not initiated at all.