Socio-Cultural and Demographic Frequencies and Determinants of Prenuptial Sexuality among Adolescent Girls in the City of Mwene-Ditu in DR Congo: A Prospective Analytical Study

Introduction: The behavioural and sexual difficulties faced by adolescents make this transition phase a complex subject that provokes debate. Our objective in this study is to determine the proportion of sexually active adolescent girls and their age at first sexual intercourse in order to look for the determining factors. Methods: An analytical study, in the form of a prospective survey on the sexual activity of adolescent girls, was carried out in a few targeted secondary schools (969 students) in the city of Mwene-Ditu over for three months from 01 January to 31 March 2023. A standard semi-open questionnaire was used by interviewing study subjects after prior informed and explicitly obtained consent from each subject included in the study. Results: Out of a total of 979 adolescent girls questioned about their sexuality, 649 of them or 66.3% [63.2 - 69.2] had said they had already contracted sexual intercourse with a man at least once and more than half of them before the age of 16 (55.9%) or at an average age of 15.1 years (Sdv: 2.1) and this one to two years after menarche (33.9%) occurred at the age of 13.7 years (Sdv: 1.4), supported by oneself: ORaj: 6.6 [2.1 - 20.6] or by one of older brother/sister: ORaj: 10.7 [4.2 - 27.5] following the socio-economic level of the parents estimated < at the average: ORaj: 5.9 [3.0 - 11.8] because of the professional instability of the parents: ORaj: 2.6 [1.5 - 4.4], legal engagement or not: ORaj: 62.5 [33.1 - 118.2] with the desire to dress well: ORaj: 15.7 [8.9 - 27.6] were the main determinants. Conclusion: Adolescent sexuality is a public health issue in Lomami province. The city of Mwene-Ditu, like many cities, faces this problem. The statistics are alarming enough and require awareness.