Studies have linked the timing of sexual debut to unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmissible infections, including HIV. Current understandings of sexual debut among Nigerian
adolescents focused on the roles of individual and familial characteristics. We leveraged the
2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey data to examine how community features like
affluence, ethnic diversity, and women empowerment may be associated with the timing of
sexual debut among adolescent girls. The sample comprised 7449 adolescent girls who
were usual residents in 6,505 households and 1,352 clusters or communities. Statistical
associations between community characteristics and the onset of sexual debut were
assessed using a two-level mixed-effects parametric survival model with Weibull distribution
