Factors Associated With Risky Sexual Behaviour Amongst Students at a Training College in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Globally students who attend colleges indulge in risky sexual practices which in turn expose them to sexually transmitted infections. Risky sexual practices such as multiple sexual partners, unprotected sex, and transactional sex continue to pose risks of sexual transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancy as well as increased termination of pregnancy amongst young people. Engaging in risky sexual behaviour is associated with various factors. Therefore, the reported study was aimed at describing the factors associated with risky sexual behaviour amongst students at a training college in South Africa. Methods: The study adopted a quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive design to describe factors associated with risky sexual behaviour amongst students. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire among 307 students who were random sampled. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23.0 was used to analyse data. Results: Among the respondents, 70,7% were females and 29.3% were males. Majority of the respondents 51.2% were staying at a rental place and about 49% were depending on the National Financial Aids Scheme (NSFAS). Staying at alone at a rental place and depending on the NSFAS is associated to engaging in risky sexual behaviours. Conclusions: Environmental factors and socio-economic factors contribute to risky sexual behaviours among students at a training college in Limpopo. Intervention to address the contributing factors should be implemented to curb the burden of engaging in risky sexual behaviours.

Contextual determinants of multiple sexual partnerships amongst young people in South Africa: a multilevel analysis

“…This study has established that the association between MSPs and contextual factors has been reflected in many previous studies [16,17,20]. Family support is of special importance to young people, especially at the community-level in many provinces in South Africa, where youth congregate.…”

“…For individual-level factors, the results showed that age was significantly associated with MSP for both female and male young people. For instance, the odds of young females and males aged (20-24 years) had significantly increased odds of having MSP (OR = 6.32, 95% CI: 5.29-7.54 and OR = 6.99, 95% CI: 5.33-9.18, respectively), compared with those (15)(16)(17)(18)(19). Considering educational attainment, the odds of having MSP were 3.6 and 1.6 times higher among female and male young people who had attained a higher education, compared with those with primary or less education.…”

“…Previous studies on RSB conducted in different countries in SSA, including South Africa have identified individual and household-level-related factors, such as gender [12], age [13], education attainment [14], employment status [15], and household size [12], are responsible for an increase in RSB among youth, whereas less attention has been paid to contextual factors. Both Murudi [16] and Seff et al [17] found contextual factors such as neighbourhood poverty, residential mobility, family disruption, and ethnic/racial heterogeneity as being associated with RSB. Adeyemo and Williams [18] found that the absence of both parents is associated with MSPs.…”

Suicidal Thoughts, Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress, and Harmful Alcohol Use Associated with Intimate Partner Violence and Rape Exposures among Female Students in South Africa

“…Therefore, mitigating the material risks faced by female students and the associated mental health outcomes will require upskilling them in basic personal finance management [63]. For some students, challenges relating to the late payment of NSFAS bursary funds contribute to young women's engagement in risky sexual behaviours as a coping strategy while waiting to receive the funds [66]. This suggests that the government's provision of bursaries without addressing financial management skills, broader structural inequalities, and poverty faced by the previously disadvantaged Black African population will not directly benefit students in higher education.…”