DEMOGRAPHIC PREDICTORS OF PREMARITAL SEXUAL BEHAVIOURS AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Teenage sexual behaviours have become a subject of attention among scholars and researchers
in recent decades and it has been reported that the number of students engaging in sexual
behaviours before marriage has increased drastically in recent years. Several studies has been
carried out on peer pressure, family factors, religion, family factors, religion, exposure to
pornographic materials and the advent of mass-media as the major determinants of teenage
sexual behaviors among students while research attention has focused on the extent to which age
and gender predict teenage sexual behaviors among secondary school students. This research
therefore examined the influence of teenage sexual behaviours of senior secondary school
students in Kogi State. To collect data for this study, a cross-sectional survey research design
was adopted. Two thousand eight hundred and sixty-five (2,865) questionnaires were distributed
to the two thousand eight hundred and sixty-two thousand eight hundred and sixty-five (2,865)
sampled population from the forty-five (45) selected some secondary school from nine (9)
sampled L.G.A of the twenty-one (21) L.G.A in the state using stratified and simple random
sampling techniques. The analysis was done using z-test statistical method to test the
hypotheses. Findings revealed that premarital sexual behaviours are influenced as a result of
age and gender of senior secondary school students. It was therefore concluded that age and
gender are predictors of teenage sexual behaviours among students. Based on the findings, the
study recommended that parents should monitor their children closely especially during the time
of their youth.