The current research literature on sexual intimacy before marriage in India is limited. The available literature mainly focuses on understanding ‘proportion’ of men and women who are sexually active (mostly defined as experiencing penetrative sex) and does not explain the context in which young people make their decisions and how these decisions evolve over a period of time. The Youth in Transition study adopted the life course approach to understand the dynamic process of decision-making of young people. Adopting an innovative approach of collecting information using a relationship history calendar and narrative interview technique, the data collected from 1240 young adults provide important insights about the sexual health needs of this population. Based on the analysis several policy and program implications are described in the report.

This report is a compilation of six research briefs, each related to a thematic topic and also have a detailed methodology chapter.