This study, “SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NNEWI NORTH ” contains concise information that will serve as a framework or guide for your project work. The project study is well-researched for academic purposes and are usually provided in complete chapters with adequate References. Keywords: SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NNEWI NORTH
Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Many adolescents engage in risky sexual activity without protection as shown by recent WHO report and this practice commonly resulted in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion. OBJECTIVE: This study is intended to describe the sexual behaviour of students in senior secondary schools in Nnewi North and South LGAs of Anambra State, South-eastern Nigeria and to describe their attitude toward contraceptive use for the prevention of pregnancy and STIs. METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional study which employed multi-stage and proportionate sampling techniques was conducted. RESULT: A total of 394 students, age range of 12 – 24 years with mean of 17 ± 1.6years were studied. 95 (24.1%) admitted to previous sexual exposure with mean age at sexual debut of 12 ± 3.6 years. More than half of them had multiple sex partners and learnt about sex from the media. 74.7% of the respondents did not use condom during their first sexual exposure and 83.3% of those who had been pregnant or got someone pregnant terminated the pregnancy. CONCLUSION: This study shows a need for better government and societal commitment to adolescent reproductive health issues and incorporation of school-based interventions relating to sexuality education into school curriculum. Keywords: Sexual Behaviour, Secondary School Students 1. Introduction Young people are at the beginning of their sexual and reproductive lives.Sexual Behaviour Physiologically, the changes in reproductive organs that occur in the life of adolescents often serve as a motivating force in their quest to experiment with sex. Some naturally explore and take risks in many aspects of their lives, including sexual relationships. Those who have sex may change partners frequently and have more than one partner in the same time period or engage in unprotected sex. These risky sexual activities make this group disproportionately affected by reproductive morbidities such as Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) including Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) infection and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), unwanted pregnancies and their complications [1-5] . Human sexual behaviour refers to any activity (solitary, between two persons, or in a group), that induces sexual European Journal of Preventive Medicine 2015; 3(2): 26-33 27 arousal. It may be the inherited sexual response patterns or other types of influence exerted on the individual by society in the expression of his sexuality[6] .Youth sexual behaviour is highly relevant to different public health problems [7,8] . For example, youth unprotected sexual intercourse contributes to unwanted pregnancies, abortions, pregnancy-related complications, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS [9] Sexual Behaviour . Adolescence represents a transition from childhood to adulthood with features including secondary sexual growth, changes in hormonal milieu, emotional, cognitive and psychological development [10,11,12] . They constitute about 20 percent of the world’s population with about 85 percent of them in developing countries [13] . The sub-Saharan African countries, of which Nigeria is, have larger proportion of adolescents than any region in the world [14] . Recent World Health Organization reports showed that many adolescents engage in risky sexual activity without protection and most had their sexual debut through a subtle coercion by their partner [15,16] . This practice commonly resulted in sexually transmitted infections (STIs), human immunodeficiency virus, unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion [10,17,18] . Studies within Africa including Nigeria have demonstrated increasing rate of premarital sex and decline in age of sexual debut among adolescents contrary to our moral and cultural values [14,19,20] . High poverty level, adoption ofwestern norm ofsexual liberty, gradual erosion of traditional norms/values, lack ofparental control, mass media, urbanization and tourism are some of the reasons that has been advanced for the above problems[20,21,22] . The Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) reported that the rate of newly acquired HIV infections are the highest in the 15-25 years age- group and that this group accounts for about 60.0% of the global total of HIV infected persons [23] . Similarly, the highest sero-positive prevalence rate of HIV in Nigeria is in this age-group [24] .Sexual Behaviour On a global scale, according to the data from the Youth Risk Behaviour Survey 2011[25,26] , it was gathered that 47% of all high school students reported having had sexual intercourse, and this was significantly higher among boys (49%) compared to girls (46%).The proportion who have ever had sex also differed significantly by race/ethnicity— rates were highest among non-Hispanic black students (60%), followed by Hispanic and non-Hispanic white students (49% and 44% respectively).Not surprisingly, this proportion also differed significantly by grade level, ranging from 33% of students in 9th grade to 63% of students in 12th grade [25,26] .In the 2011 survey also, 6% of high school students reported that they first had sex before age 13. 15% of high school students reported having already had four or more sexual partners—rates were significantly higher among boys (18%) compared to girls (13%), 60% of sexually active students reported using a condom the last time they had sex, and 18% of sexually active students reported using birth control pills the last time they had sex[25,26] . In Nigeria, the youth account for 32.0% of Nigerian’s 140 million people and nearly half (48.6%) of adolescents aged 15-19 are sexually active [27] . Researches have confirmed that risky sexual behavior is associated with young people.Sexual Behaviour
Keywords: SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NNEWI NORTH
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