SOCIO-ECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL FEMALE STUDENTS IN ILORIN SOUTH, KWARA STATE

Abstract

Researchers found out that many Female secondary School Students drop out of School due to unwanted Pregnancy,
the increase in the above narrative prompted the Researchers to investigate the Socio-Economic determinants
responsible for teenage pregnancy among secondary school students in Ilorin South Local Government Area, Kwara
State. Essentially, the purpose of this study is to determine whether (i) Poverty, ii) Peer Pressure are contributory factors
responsible for Teenage Pregnancy among Secondary School Students in Ilorin South Local Government Area of
Kwara State.
A descriptive research design of survey type was deployed for this study. Multi-stage sampling techniques of
simple random, proportionate and convenient sampling techniques were adopted to select 418 respondents for the study.
A researcher-designed Questionnaire validated by three experts from the Department of Health Promotion and
Environmental Health Education, were used for data collection. A correlation coefficient of 0.79r was obtained through
split half method using Crobach alpha, which was considered reliable for the study. The data collected was analyzed
using descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages for demographic data of the respondents and to answer
the research Questions while inferential statistics of Chi square was used to test the hypotheses. All hypotheses were
tested at 0.05 level of significance.
The finding showed that:
I. Poverty is aSocio-Economic determinant of Teenage Pregnancy among Secondary School Students in Ilorin
South Local Government Area, Kwara State. This was because calculated value (238.51) is ˃ table value
(16.92) at 0.05 level of significant. (Cal χ2 val ˃ Tab χ2 val)
II. peer pressure is a Socio-Economic determinant of Teenage Pregnancy among Secondary School Students in
Ilorin South Local Government Area, Kwara State. This was because calculated value (323.57) is ˃ table value
(16.92) at 0.05 level of significant. (Cal χ2 val ˃ Tab χ2 val)
Conclusion based on the findings reveals that Poverty and Peer Pressure are Socio-Economic determinants of Teenage
Pregnancy among Secondary School Students in Ilorin South Local Government, Kwara State. Therefore, it was
recommended that Parents should ensure the basic needs of their Children are met to discourage them from been
enticed by money outside the family reach, Teenagers are also encouraged to keep good circle and quality friends to
discourage negative influence of bad Friends and societal Peer Pressure.