Early Sexual Initiation Is Associated with Suicide Attempts among Chinese Young People

Jianing Ren, Xinran Qi, Wenzhen Cao, Zhicheng Wang, Yueping Guo, Junjian Gaoshan, Xiao Liang and Kun Tang
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Jianing Ren: Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Xinran Qi: Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Wenzhen Cao: School of Public Health and Management, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China
Zhicheng Wang: Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Yueping Guo: School of Journalism and Communication, Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 102488, China
Junjian Gaoshan: Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
Xiao Liang: China Family Planning Association, Beijing 100035, China
Kun Tang: Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-12

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the association between early sexual initiation and suicide attempts (SAs) among Chinese young people. Our analysis included 9131 college students who had sexual experience from a national sample of 31 provincial administrative regions. Self-reported age at first intercourse was categorized as ≤15, 15–18, and ≥18 years, and the experience of SAs was recorded and analyzed. Compared with females whose sexual debut age was ≥18 years, those ≤15 years (defined as early sexual initiation) had higher odds of SAs in both the forced debut group (odds ratio (OR) 17.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.87–59.66) and the voluntary debut group (OR 37.63, 95% CI 14.96–94.66). Early sexual initiators who lived in rural areas were more inclined to have SAs (female: OR 65.76, 95% CI 19.80–218.42; male: OR 15.39, 95% CI 1.64–144.19). Early sexual initiators who never had parent–child communication about sex were more likely to report having SAs (female: OR 37.81, 95% CI 12.28–116.46). Sexual debut during adolescence, particularly early sexual initiation, was a crucial risk factor for SAs among both sexes. Comprehensive sexuality education and smooth parental communication about sex will provide a supportive environment for young people and hence reduce the potential risks of SAs.

Keywords: early sexual initiation; early sexual debut; suicide attempts; young people; Chinese (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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