Predictors of sexual behaviours among adolescents attending co-educational public secondary school in Uyo Local Government Area, AkwaIbom State. Nigeria.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.68050/JAMS.2026.575Keywords:
sexual behaviour; adolescents; secondary school students; UyoAbstract
Adolescent sexual activity is still a prevailing problem globally including Nigeria and it is only when the cause of the issue is first thoroughly understood , will there be a formulation of implementable effective interventions to address it. The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of sexual behaviour among adolescents attending co-educational public secondary schools in Uyo Local Government Area (LGA), AkwaIbom State, Nigeria. This research employed a cross sectional study design. A total of 414 eligible respondents were recruited using a multi-stage random sampling technique. A pretested interviewer administered semi - structured questionnaire was utilized to collect data on their sociodemographic characteristics and sexual behaviour, which were analysed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 25. The mean age of the respondents was 15.9 +/- 1.4 years. Among the 414 respondents, 37.3% were males while 62.6% were females, and 36.5% have had sexual intercourse. Predictors of sexual behaviour found to be independently significant after controlling for confounders using multivariable logistic regression were: being in an intimate relationship, poor parental monitoring, substance use, family dysfunction, sexual abuse, poor parental monitoring, having no information on sexuality, media and peer influence. The study's findings revealed that a lot of adolescents attending public secondary schools in Uyo LGA are sexually active. This shows that there is an urgent need for an adolescent friendly clinic in health facilities at all levels of health care service delivery and a curriculum based sex education need to be established in schools.
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