Abstract
BACKGROUND: Very little is known about the school-related and sociocultural determinants of the sexual practices amongst Nigerian secondary school students. This study aims to determine such factors amongst them. METHODS: This was a descriptive questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey of 2,530 students from 13 Nigerian secondary schools. RESULTS: Roughly a fifth (22.1%) of the respondents had engaged in sex and their mean (±SD) age of sexual debut was 13.8 (±3.6) years; 82.3% and 53.6% of those who had ever had sex had a history of vaginal sex and oral sex, respectively. Also, 52.3% and 58.9% of those with a history of vaginal sex and oral sex had multiple sexual partners, respectively. No significant difference exists between respondents’ lifetime sexual history and school type (private versus [vs.] public); student’s class (SS 1 vs. SS2 vs. SS3); and mode of the studentship (day vs. boarding) (p-values>0.05). However, the following factors were found to predict a positive history of engagement in sexual practices amongst the respondents: age ≥ 20 years (aOR:5.24; 95%CI:2.21-12.46); age 15-19 years (aOR:1.99; 95%CI:1.02-3.88); studying in northern Nigeria (aOR:1.96; 95%CI:1.02-3.88); being a Yoruba (aOR:2.28; 95%CI:1.24-4.22); being male (aOR:1.89; 95%CI:1.17-3.04); and being a Muslim (aOR:2.17; 95%CI:1.30-3.64). CONCLUSION: Age, gender, school location, tribe, and religion were significantly associated with the positive sexual history of Nigerian secondary school students.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 32-37 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Rwanda Medical Journal |
| Volume | 77 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 9 Oct 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:*Corresponding author: Dr. Kehinde Kazeem Kanmodi; Mobile: +2347032329156; E-mil: [email protected]; Potential Conflicts of Interest (CoI): All authors: no potential conflicts of interest disclosed; Funding: All authors: The study was funded by the Cephas Health Research Initiative Inc, Nigeria; Academic Integrity. All authors confirm that they have made substantial academic contributions to this manuscript as defined by the ICMJE; Ethics of human subject participation: The study was approved by the local Institutional Review Board. Informed consent was sought and gained where applicable; Originality:Allauthors:thismanuscriptisoriginalhasnotbeenpublishedelsewhere;Type-editor: HimaniU(SA) Review: This manuscript was peer-reviewed by three reviewers in a double-blind review process; Received: 04th May 2020; Initial decision given: 24th July 2020; Revised manuscript received: 06th August 2020; Accepted: 08th October 2020.
Publisher Copyright:
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