Revista de enfermería comunitaria y de salud pública

Abstracto

Variables Influencing Premarital Sex among Secondary School Adolescents in Anambra State, Nigeria

Jane Obiageli Anene, Ezenduka Pauline Ojinaka and Elkenah Chubike Ndie

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and variables influencing pre-marital sex among secondary school adolescents in Anambra State of Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among secondary school adolescents in Anambra State. Data was collected using a pre-tested, structured, self-administered questionnaire. Respondents were selected using a multistage sampling technique. The instrument used for data collection in the study was the Secondary School Student Sex Variables Questionnaire (SSSVQ) which was constructed by the researcher. A total of 955 respondents were surveyed. More than half of the respondents (54.8%) are aged between 14 and 17 years of age. The prevalence of pre-marital sex among the respondents was 66.6%. Among the 636 respondents who have had pre-marital sex, 500 (78.6%) were males, while 136 (21.4%) were females (X2=0.010, df=1, p=0.010). It was concluded that that the incidence of pre-marital sex among secondary school adolescents is high. It was recommended that Nurses who are in charge of school health clinics should counsel the adolescents on the dangers of pre-marital sex and also provide them with skills to be able to take the right decisions and parents and guardians should re-examine and sharpen their parenting skills with a view to instilling the desired strong moral and disciplinary attitudes in the youths.