Migration Experience and Sexual Debut in Urban Kenya: An Event History Analysis

Nancy Luke, Brown University
Hongwei Xu, Brown University
Blessing Mberu, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)
Rachel E. Goldberg, Brown University

Migration and urban exposure during formative years could impact important life course transitions, such as the timing of sexual debut. We use unique life history calendar data to investigate patterns of migration and urban exposure among urban Kenyan youth from 1998 to 2007. We employ event history techniques to explore how the types and timing of residential moves affect the timing of sexual debut. Among 18-24-year-olds, 69 percent initiated sex before age 18. Only 15 percent of females and 25 percent of males have *not* experienced a major residential move in the last 10 years. Ever experiencing a rural-to-urban move significantly increases the likelihood of sexual debut in a given month for males, while the greater number of such moves decreases the likelihood for both sexes combined. Further analyses will examine the timing of migration experiences and sexual debut and how these associations differ by sex and orphan status.