Premarital Sex Initiation and the Time Interval to First Marriage Among Indonesians

Abstract

This study examines the determinants of premarital sex and its effect on the ages at which Indonesians first marry. Survival analysis has been applied to the 2012 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS), in which 11% of Indonesians reported they had had premarital sex. Our study shows the prevalence of premarital sex is higher when based on reports from married females and males aged 15–24 instead of reports from unmarried Indonesians. Males, less-educated people, and rural residents are also more likely to have premarital sex, while females, more-educated people and rural residents marry sooner after first having sex. Generally, however, Indonesians who have had premarital sex marry later than their counterparts. The long time span between Indonesians initiating premarital sex and marrying needs to be considered in policy that provides unmarried adolescents with rights to comprehensive sexual reproductive health (SRH) services.