ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Reprod. Health
Sec. Adolescent Reproductive Health and Well-being
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frph.2025.1626266
This article is part of the Research TopicAdolescent Oral, Mental and Sexual WellnessView all 5 articles
Factors influencing sexual behaviors among youths in Myanmar: the results from the Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey 2015-16
Provisionally accepted
- Faculty of Public Health, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
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Background: Youths in Myanmar face heightened risks for adverse sexual health outcomes such as unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS. Despite the increasing youth population in Myanmar, nationally representative data on factors influencing their sexual behaviors are limited. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with sexual behaviors among youths in Myanmar. Methods: This study used data from the Myanmar Demographic Health Survey 2015-16 to analyze a sample of 4,645 youths aged 15 to 24. Descriptive statistics were used to investigate sociodemographic factors, HIV/STI and contraceptive knowledge, and sexual behaviors. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with sexual behaviors. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were presented. Statistical significance was determined at a p-value of <0.05. Results: Among sexually active youths (n=1,366), 47.0% reported having their first sex at or before the age of 18, 54.0% were currently using contraception, and only 8.1% of males had paid for sex. Higher education levels, middle, richer, and richest wealth, as well as moderate and high contraception knowledge, were all protective against early sexual initiation. Females and currently married youths were more likely to use contraception, while regional disparities persisted, with youths from hilly, coastal, and plains regions less likely to use contraceptives than those from the delta and lowlands. Married males were less likely to pay for sex. Male youths with moderate or high contraception knowledge reported higher risk of paying for sex. Conclusion: According to this study, gender, education level, wealth status, marital status, region, and contraceptive knowledge all have a significant impact on sexual behaviors among Myanmar youths. Early sexual initiation and low contraceptive use are common, especially among young people with low education and socioeconomic status. Targeted, inclusive, and culturally sensitive sexual and reproductive health education and services are urgently needed to address knowledge gaps and promote safer behaviors among Myanmar's youth.
Keywords: sexual behaviors, Contraceptive use, early sexual initiation, Paying for sex, Youth, Myanmar demographic and health survey, Reproductive Health, Influencing factors
Received: 12 May 2025; Accepted: 30 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hlaing, Siewchaisakul and Chutrakarn. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sineenart Chutrakarn, Faculty of Public Health, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
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