Parental Attitude towards Sexuality Education for Secondary School Students in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the parental attitude towards sexuality education for secondary school students in Kwara State, Nigeria. The study also sought whether variables such as gender, religion and educational qualification would affect the respondents' views. Descriptive survey method was adopted for this study. Using a three-stage sampling technique, four hundred respondents in Kwara State were selected to participate in the study. The data was gathered with the use of a researcher-designed instrument titled "Attitude of Parents towards Sexuality Education Questionnaire (APSEQ). The t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistical tools were employed to analyze the formulated null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Results showed that the attitude of parents towards sexuality education for in-school adolescents in Kwara State is negative. Also, there were significant differences in the attitude of parents towards sexuality education for in-school adolescents in Kwara State based on gender and educational qualification, but no significant difference was found on religion. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations were made among others that counsellors should educate parents on the need and importance of sexuality education so as to develop positive attitude towards it. Parents should be made to realize that sexuality education will reduce unwanted pregnancies, prevent sexually transmitted diseases among many other advantages. It should be made known to parents that sexuality education is meant to curb risky sexual behaviours and not escalate it.

Development and Validation of an Instrument to Measure Parental Attitude and Health Beliefs Toward Sexuality Education

“…In addition, when developing these measurements, most researchers were targeting on parents of high school students (Odebode, 2019; Peter et al, 2015; Welshimer & Harris, 1994) with limited evaluation tools for parents with children attending primary schools. Parents’ expectations for sexuality education could be varied based on physical and mental maturity of their children (Barr et al, 2014; Yeo & Lee, 2020).…”

Diversities of Sexual Activities and Correlates of Safe Sex Practices Among Adolescents in Plateau State, Nigeria

“…Parents in Nigeria sometimes deny adolescent involvement in sex outside marriage and typically adhere to strict, traditional discipline in the upbringing of their children that makes it difficult to accept that adolescents may have sex ( 29 ). In contrast, most adolescents are exposed to information about sex through the Internet ( 27 ), and frequently engage in (unsafe) sex ( 2 , 27 ).…”