{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]],"date-time":"2026-04-01T08:34:09Z","timestamp":1775032449125,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]],"date-time":"2026-04-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775001600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Reprod. Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Myanmar's youth's sexual behavior is a strong predictor of public health outcomes, particularly sexually transmitted infections, HIV\/AIDS, and unintended pregnancies. Although abstaining from sex is a widely promoted preventive measure, there is little evidence among Myanmar's young people. This study sought to determine the prevalence of sexual abstinence and its associated factors.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      This retrospective study analyzed data from the 2015\u20132016 Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) to determine the prevalence of sexual abstinence and associated factors. The sample included 4,573 young people aged 15\u201324. Descriptive statistics, Univariable and multivariable logistic regression were used, with a significance of\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      -value\u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.05.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The findings indicated that 71.2% of Myanmar youths were sexually abstinent. Multiple logistic regression revealed that age 15\u201319 years (AOR\u2009=\u20090.13), females (AOR\u2009=\u20090.69), current tobacco use (AOR\u2009=\u20090.54), and moderate to high HIV\/AIDS awareness level (AOR\u2009=\u20090.75, 0.73) were associated with reduced probabilities of sexual abstinence. Higher education level (AOR\u2009=\u20092.24), employment (AOR\u2009=\u20091.55), higher wealth index (AORs\u2009=\u20091.59\u20132.73), and access to media (AOR\u2009=\u20091.24) were associated with increased probabilities of sexual abstinence.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings suggest the need for interventions that support school retention, address socioeconomic disadvantage, promote positive media engagement, and integrate substance-use prevention within sexual and reproductive health initiatives aimed at youths in Myanmar.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/frph.2026.1751178","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]],"date-time":"2026-04-01T05:41:34Z","timestamp":1775022094000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Sexual abstinence and associated factors among Myanmar youths: evidence from the Myanmar demographic and health survey 2015\u201316"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Yoon Shwe Yee","family":"Hlaing","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Public Health, Chiang Mai University","place":["Chiang Mai, Thailand"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pallop","family":"Siewchaisakul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Public Health, Chiang Mai University","place":["Chiang Mai, Thailand"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sineenart","family":"Chautrakarn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Public Health, Chiang Mai University","place":["Chiang Mai, Thailand"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0315495","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0315495","article-title":"Assessing the drivers of sexual behavior among youth and its social determinants in Nepal","volume":"20","author":"Shrestha","year":"2025","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1459825","DOI":"10.3389\/frph.2024.1459825","article-title":"What emerging adults say about the appropriateness of sexual and reproductive health programmes: evidence from a suburb in Accra, Ghana","volume":"6","author":"Sowah","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front Reprod Health"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"407","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-374235-3.00015-7","article-title":"Interventions with youth in high-prevalence areas","volume-title":"HIV prevention: A Comprehensive Approach","author":"Karim","year":"2009"},{"key":"B4","year":"2024"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"81","DOI":"10.1080\/17290376.2016.1195281","article-title":"Sexual abstinence: what is the understanding and views of secondary school learners in a semi-rural area of north west province, South Africa?","volume":"13","author":"Mokwena","year":"2016","journal-title":". 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