Sexual Initiation and the Timing of First Union among women in Uganda

The aim of this paper was to examine the socioeconomic correlates of the length of the gap between onset of sex initiation and the age at first union, and also estimate the waiting time to first union after sexual debut. Self-reported data from the individual record file were extracted from the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS), comprising of a subsample of 4293 women aged 15-25. Chi-square tests and the logistic regression of multivariable event history analysis were used to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic factors and the length of the gap. Descriptive findings show that the average and mean waiting time in years is about 5.6 and 5.5 respectively. Age at sexual initiation and current age of the woman were the only significant factors. Women who had their sexual debut before age 15 would take longer to transit to first union and this is perhaps attributed to serial monogamy, and having multiple and concurrent partners which leads to a failure in subsequent union formation. Women aged 20-25 had a disproportionally lower risk of transiting to first union, which is attributed to social development aspects, diverging from earlier thinking that a woman is supposed to either be one’s wife or one’s mother. In conclusion, efforts to address what might influence the length of the gap between sexual union and first union need to take into account the age at sexual debut and the current age of the women.