Sexuality Communication between the Clergy and Adolescents in Nakuru County, Kenya.

Abstract

The study examines the sexuality communication between the clergy and adolescents in Nakuru County, Kenya. The study uses Systems theory anchored by Ludwing Von Bertalanffy (1969). Eighty students were sampled from ten secondary schools in Nakuru East and Njoro sub-counties representing both urban and rural teacher population. The schools included six same-sex secondary (three only boys and three only girls) schools and four mixed-sex secondary schools. The categories of the schools included two national schools, three extra-county schools, three county schools and two sub-county schools. The study used a self-administered questionnaire as a method of data collection, which was appropriate for collecting sensitive information such as sexual communication yet provide quantifiable data that can be used for statistical analysis. The schools were categorized from letter A to J. The results of this study showed that although the clergy engage the adolescents in some sexuality communication, the sexuality information communicated by the clergy was insufficient to help them manage the sexuality challenges they encounter. This is partly because adolescents did not consider their interests as fully taken into account since the clergy used strategies that were convenient for them, but failed to address the adolescents’ needs. The study suggested that clergy should be more accommodative of the views of the adolescents by considering the feedback regarding their interests and concerns. A good system will seek balance through interchanging with its environment and this comes through those feedback loops that enlighten the system on how or what to modify in order to maintain the system balance.