Sexual Behaviour and Contraceptive Use Among Secondary School Adolescents in Etche Local Government Area, Rivers State, Nigeria
Keywords:
Adolescent, Contraceptives, Etche, Secondary School, Sexual BehaviourAbstract
The study looks at the usage of contraception and sexual conduct among secondary school students in Rivers State's
Etche Local Government Area. The study used a descriptive cross-sectional survey design. All teenagers enrolled in
school in the Etche Local Government Area comprised the study population. A sample of five hundred individuals
was chosen for the study using a random sampling technique. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather the
data, which was then analysed using binary logistic regression with a significance level of P = 0.00, alpha, sample
percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The grand mean of respondents was 2.55 + 1.16. Among the respondents,
77.0% were aged 10-14 years, 59.3% were female gender, 43.1% were in the JSS3 class of study, 41.1% were of the
Pentecostal Christian religious sect, while 57.3% were married. The research's conclusions demonstrated that 63.3%
of those surveyed had a boy/girl lover. Moreover, 57.1% have had sexual intercourse, while 33.9% have, however,
been pregnant/impregnated someone. The result of the research also indicates that 30.8% of the participants use
contraceptives at first sexual intercourse; the majority, 86.9% of the respondents who had ever had sexual intercourse
in the last six months, presently use methods such as condoms (63.2%), oral pills (17.2%), and withdrawal coitus
interruptus (9.8%). A positive attitude of respondents towards contraceptive use was also found. However, the binary
logistic regression outcome revealed a significant relationship between sexual behaviour and the use of contraceptives;
the respondents who had a positive attitude were roughly twice (OR = 1.66, 95% CI: 1. 118-2.472) more likely to
employ birth control compared to those with a negative attitude. The result also indicated that an increase in risky
sexual behaviour of the study participants will lead to a decrease in contraceptive use ( = 1.593). The study
recommends that curriculum education developers should build a compulsory subject on sex education, puberty, and
contraceptive use in the scheme of work to enable students to have the right knowledge and know the problems facing
the in-school adolescent in Etche L.G.A of Rivers State.
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