Perception of Parents on Adolescents’ use of Contraceptives in Igbogbo

Abstract

Problem: Adolescent reproductive health has become a major public health concern as the number one killer of adolescent girls worldwide is unwanted pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths. The adolescence period is characterized by the inclination towards risky behaviors. Among these risky behaviors is unprotected sexual intercourse that can lead to unwanted pregnancy and infections from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, STDs. Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the perception of parents on adolescents' use of contraceptives in Igbogbo district in Ikorodu Local Government of Lagos State, in Southwest Nigeria. Method: A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select 120 secondary school students, the parents of the selected students were given a self developed questionnaire that has already been validated and tested for reliability to fill and return and out of 120 questionnaires only 110 was properly filled and returned. A descriptive analysis was used to describe the data generated and out of the respondents. Outcome: The findings from this study showed that 74 (67.3%) of the respondents were females and 36 (32.7) were males. It was deduced from this study that parents are aware of adolescent engagement in sexual relations, have a fair knowledge on modern forms of contraceptives, communicate well with their children but have a low perception on adolescents' use of contraceptives. The findings from this study did not show any association between parents' socio-demographic characteristics and their perception. This study revealed the fear of serious side effects, promiscuity tendency, cultural beliefs and religion beliefs as the major factors that might have contributed to this low perception. This study also showed that parents want adolescents to abstain from any form of sexual relation but wants them to be educated on the uses and benefits of contraceptives. This study therefore concluded that parents should be educated on the types, uses, and benefits of contraceptives and be encouraged to pass the knowledge across to their children.