This study aimed to analyze the individual and family factors associated with sexual debut among adolescents. From June to December 2002, a cross-sectional study was conducted with 383 15-19-year-old single adolescents enrolled in a family health unit on the East Side of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted separately for males and females. Dating and age were positively associated with sexual debut for both boys and girls. Parental factors were only associated with male sexual debut, while factors related to siblings and housing were only associated with female sexual debut. Thus, dating and family factors like parents' opinions on sexual practices in adolescence and having a sibling with a history of teenage pregnancy are aspects that need to be incorporated into reproductive and sexual health promotion policies targeting adolescents, since they appear as determinants of sexual debut among these young people.
Sexual Behaviour; Sexual and Reproductive Health; Adolescent
