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The Effect Of Sexuality Education Among Household And Adolescents’ Risky Sexual Behaviour
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Access
to effective, broadly based sexual health education is an important
contributing factor to the health and well-being of youths’ (Health
Canada, 2003; Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada,
2004). There has been considerable concern in many countries in the
world about the sexual and reproductive health of young people, in part
because of their perceived increased vulnerability to the risk of
sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including acquired immune
deficiency syndrome (AIDS) (Knode-lule et al., 1997; Preston-Whyte,
1994; Scommegna, 1996; Twa-Twa et al., 1997), the potential risks to
their health due to early pregnancy (AbouZahr & Royston, 1991;
Barreto et al., 1992; United Nations, 1989), and the negative
consequences of early and non-marital childbearing to young people’s
life prospects (Hayes, 1987). School-based programes are an essential
avenue for providing sexual health education to young people in the
society.
However, sex education is considered as a top priority for
the educators, public health professionals, and others who are committed
to providing high quality sexual health education in schools and other
community settings are often asked to explain the rationale, philosophy,
and content of providing existing sexual health education programs to
avert risky behaviour later in their lifetime. For instance,
Isiugo-Abanihe (1994) has shown that more than 38 % of female
adolescents in Nigeria, age 15 to 24 years, had initiated sexually
activity in 1990, with a mean age of sexual debut less than 17 years.
Nearly 60 % of those who had initiated sex had affairs within four weeks
of the survey.
Also, the growing concern about the reproductive
health of adolescents and young adults derives in part from the sheer
size of their cohorts. According to estimates by the National Population
Commission (NPC, 1998), about 84 million Nigerians are currently under
age 25, or about 63 % of the population; nearly 59 million or about 44 %
are under age 15 yet, due to lack of prompt sexual education, many
adolescence life had been sent to early grave due to risky sexual
behaviour as a result of peer pressure and other factors. The Guidelines
of such education are based on the principle that sexual health
education should be accessible to all people and that it should be
provided in an age appropriate, culturally sensitive manner that is
respectful of an individual’s right to make informed choices about
sexual and reproductive health.
In addition, adolescents often look
to their families as one of several preferred sources of sexual health
information (King et al., 1988; McKay & Holowaty, 1997). However,
most young people agree that sexual health education should be a shared
responsibility between parents and schools (Byers, Sears, Voyer, et al.,
2003a; Byers, Sears, Voyer, et al., 2003b). An evidence-based approach
combined with a respect for democratic values offers a strong foundation
for the development and implementation of high quality sexual health
education programs in our schools (McKay, 1998).
Accordingly, the period of adolescence occupies a unique stage in every
person's life. It is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood.
Adolescence has been described as a stage among human beings where a
lot of physiological as well as anatomical changes take place resulting
in reproductive maturity in the adolescents, (Kirby, 1999). Many
adolescents manage this transformation successfully while others
experience major stress and find themselves engaging in behaviours such
as sexual experimentation, exploration and promiscuity etc. that place
their well-being at risk (Adegoke, 2003). Adolescents display sexual
behaviours and developmental characteristics that place them at risk for
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). A primary source of risk of
HIV/AIDS for instance is unprotected /indiscriminate sexual activity
(Remafedi, 1999). By the time they are 18, most adolescents in Nigeria
are sexually active).
Furthermore, despite increased sexual
knowledge, adolescents in Nigeria are poor contraceptive users
(Abogunrin, 1999). They are less likely than adults to consistently use
condoms or other methods of protection that could reduce their chances
of infection (Esere, 2006). Neither specific teaching about
contraception nor improving the contraceptive service consistently
increases effective contraceptive use by young teenagers. Adolescents
having sexual intercourse before age 16 are more likely to take risks by
(Kirby, 1999). They have more sexual partners during their lifetime and
more partners per year and they start sexual activity earlier in new
relationships than those who become sexually active after age 16.
(Johnson, 1999)
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]This study investigated the effect of sexuality education among household and adolescents’ risky sexual behaviour in Ibadan north local government area of Oyo State. It was discovered from real life observation and past research works done by various scholars that sex education was not welled managed among parents, care givers, the school system and the community at large. The principal factor of these has led to an immoral behaviour which the results firmly negative to the norms of the s ... Continue reading---
