ABSTRACT
This study was designed to ascertain the influence of family life education on sexual behaviour of secondary school students in Niger state. Four research questions and one null hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. An Ex-post Facto research design was adopted. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 2,300 students and stratified random sampling technique was used to select 360 parents used for the study. A structured questionnaire with two sections was used as instrument for data collection. The reliability coefficient of the instrument yielded 0.86 using Cronbach Alpha formula. Four research questions and one null hypothesis tested at 0.05 level of significance were used for the study. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test statistic was employed to test the null hypothesis. The study revealed among others that; provision of family life education by parents is very high which mean that family life education has high influence on students’ sexual behaviour. The result also showed that location has influence on their sexual behaviour especially students of urban area. The study also revealed that identified strategies, parental monitoring of students, parental periodic communication with students, parental disapproval of sexual activeness, and employing democracy at home. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that family life education should be included in senior secondary school and tertiary institution curriculum.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The family is the most important primary group and the smallest social unit in society. It has its roots in the human biological and physical nature. As such it is universal in the sense that no human society could possibly exist or has existed without some form of family organization. MacIver and Page (1981) define family as a group defined by a sex relationship sufficiently precise and enduring to provide for procreation and upbringing of children. Akubue and Okolo (2008) define family as a group of people who interact and communicate with others such as husband, wife and children. Doob (1997) defines family as a social unit comprised of two or more people who live together and are related by blood, marriage or adoption. Consequently, Doob’s definition suggests that personal ties do not constitute a family, because such ties can exist among couples that are not married. What gives a family character is children. Nevertheless, only in such a family can that intimate personal relationship be established, hence, by which the family can perform its function of rearing, protecting, educating, and transmitting to the children, the social norms and values it has inherited and creating a special bond between all the members. In the context of this study family is a group of people who are united for the purpose of living together as husband and wife with children and other members such as siblings, uncles, and grand parents.
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Family style of educating their children may to a great extent influence the sexuality of their children. According to Gebhard (1953) human sexual behaviour refers to any solitary activity between two persons or in a group that induces sexual arousal. For Gebhard there are two determinants of human sexual behaviour namely: the inherited sexual response patterns that have evolved as a means of ensuring reproduction and that part of each individual genetic inheritance. Wikipedia (2011) defines sexual behaviour as that manner in which humans experience and expresses their sexuality. Similarly, Owuamanam (1982) identified five types of sexual behaviours found among pre-adolescent. They include kissing, breast and genital fondling, embracing, holding of arms, and sexual intercourse. However, Alzea (1978) and Soyinka (1979) had earlier identified dating, petting, masturbation, oral genital contact and homosexual contact as sexual behaviours in human. In the context of this study sexuality is the total feeling of being human, of your sex, and how you relate sexually to others. On the other hand sexual behaviour is the individuals demonstration or expression of sexual urge orally or by action directed towards other people male or female.
The state of the youths requires preparing them for roles and responsibilities of family living. The individual families need to train youths on knowledge of human development, interpersonal relationship, and family living. Some societies transmit this knowledge through formal means such as puberty or initiation rites, for the most part, of Africa and indeed Nigeria. Children learn about ways of living in the family from their observations of roles played by family members and their own participation in family activities as well as their interactions with other families around them. As societies change and become more complex, the old pattern of informal learning gave way to formal learning through information communication technology (ICT),in internet, pornographic films and other electronic media. These advances in technology and changing social and economic conditions have called for the teaching of family life education.
Family life education is crucial in packaging social and sexual life of family members. Family life education according to Adeyemo and Brieger (1995) is a process of imparting both factual knowledge about human development, sexual relationship, preparation for parenthood, pregnancy, contraceptive, and sexually transmitted diseases. Furthermore, value, attitude and perceptions that will enhance health, self concepts and relationships are given through family life education to members of the family in particular and society in general. Holmdel (1995) defines Family Life Education as a program aimed at developing an understanding of the physical, mental, emotional, social, economic, and psychological aspects of interpersonal relationships; the physiological, psychological and cultural foundations of human development, sexuality, and reproduction, at various stages of growth; and the opportunity for pupils to acquire knowledge which will support the development of responsible personal behavior, strengthen their own family life now, and aid in establishing strong family life for themselves in the future thereby contributing to the enrichment of the community. In the context of this study, family life education is the sexuality information passed from the elders to the young ones. It could be taught by experts in the field, teachers, and parents to their children, youths, and young married couples.
Parental style of educating the children on their sexuality differs from family to family. For example, some parents prefer parental monitoring of children’s peers, parental continuous discussion, parental disapproval of sexual activeness and parental involvement in children sexuality problems. Guilamo–Ramos, Jaccard, Dittus, and Bouris (2006) asserts that teens whose mothers discussed the social and moral consequences of being sexually active with them are less likely to engage in sexual intercourse. Longmore, Manning and Giordano (2001) asserts that children whose parents monitor more closely are less likely to be sexually active when they are in their teens. Parents who strictly monitor their teens or children’s behaviour during pre-adolescence are 30 percent less likely to be sexually active when compared to teens whose parents are less strict in monitoring of their children’s behaviour during pre-adolescence. Summers (1990) defines teens as a period of ones life between and including the ages of 13 and 19 years. In the context of this study, the word teen is a numerical terminology used to identify a stage in human life, during which an individual human transits from childhood to early adulthood. The period is marked by great changes in physical appearance and maturation sexually. Teens learn all the vices of adults including sexual intercourse in this period.
Teenagers who felt their parents strongly disapproved of their sexual behaviour, according to Carol, Brain, and Williams (2005) were less likely to have a sexually transmitted infection (STI) than peers who did not perceive their parent’s strong disapproval. Aspy, Vesely, Omen and Rodine (2007) asserted that teens whose parents talk with them about standard of sexual behaviour are more likely to be abstinent. Youths whose parents talked to them about what is right and wrong in sexual behaviour were significantly more likely to abstain from wrong sexual behaviour than peers whose parents did not.
Sexual practices vary from culture to culture and from one location to the other. For example, location of children family home and schools which children attended has been found to contribute to children sexual activeness(Adeboyejo & Onyeonaru 2005). It is argued that the type of home environment as indicated by urban residential neighbourhoods in which students live, and possibly work have implications for and may even compound, sexual behaviour among other behavioural dispositions. In other words, home environment is an embodiment of microenvironment processes that affect other behaviours such as alcoholism, drug addiction, aggression and sexual behavioural disposition. The associated poor living and environmental condition will affect such sexual characteristics as age of first sex, the nature, condition and process of first sex experience as well as identity of first sexual partner. On the other hand, in the well laid-out low-density home environment, characterized by expensive homes, and lawns where students living in separate rooms often beyond parental supervision watchful eyes and with access to product of modern technology, there is ample opportunity for various sexual experimentations among students (Isiugo-Abanihe & Oyediran, 2004).
Researches suggest that urban and suburban children are most sexually active (Ajuwon, Olaleye, Faramoju & Ladipo, 2006). Studies revealed that premarital sexual relation among urban adolescent is not only becoming a near universal phenomena but also the mean age of first sexual encounter is declining and also noteworthy is the high level of sexual activity with about three out of every four adolescent having sex with more than one partner (Adeboyejo & Onyeonaru, 2005). Secondary school students require considerable information about their sexuality and risky sexual behaviour. Hanlon (2010) reported that from ages 12 – 18 years children experience distinct mental and physical changes. This period marks the beginning of girls’ menstrual cycle and the boys’ maturity in their genitalia. During this time of physical changes teenage children may become more self centered, more comfortable with their body sexually and ready for romantic friendship. Their behaviour includes need to pull away from parents and authority to establish their own self identity and make decisions on their own. Their curiosity and thirst for new experiences may push them into experimenting sexual intercourse with non-marital partners or sex with multiple partners, without the use of condom, homosexuality, kissing, hugging, prostitution and oral sex. Sharma, Mahajan and Samkaria (2004) stresses that this type of risk taking often results in self destructions. The Nigerian Association for the Promotion of Adolescent Health and Development (NAPAHD) (2004) asserts that a hospital based research has shown that 80 per cent of patient with abortion complication are young girls. The teenage children health dilemma has been attributed to their lack of information and knowledge about the implication of their behaviour on their sexual health.
From the researcher’s observation, after the total deboarding of secondary schools in Niger state, all students going to secondary school have to live with their parents. Consequently, students have to travel to their schools from their various homes. Many male and female students took advantage of this freedom to visit places their parents would never cherish them to visit. Some female students follow their friends to male friend’s houses. Some go to hotels to experiment sex with unknown persons sometimes with multiple partners. Boys are not left out; some took this advantage to experiment sex in hotels, with prostitutes and unknown women. The state of the youths is that many female students become pregnant prematurely, many girls become prostitutes, and many girls withdrew at lower secondary classes and become house girls, street hawkers and hair palters. For boys, many become fathers that they are not prepared for, many die of HIV/AIDS, many become okada riders, many dropout of school and become motor park tout. Principals of girls’ schools reported rampant cases of sexually transmitted infections (STI). Many are hospitalized for vesico viginal fistula (VVF). Hence, motherless homes that were not known become common in Niger state. Adoption is gaining ground because of the over crowdedness of motherless homes. Niger state government has cited schools in Bida, Minna, Suleja and Kontagora to cater for dropouts, married women, nursing women and underage pregnant women. In spite of this effort, the number of boys and girls dropout roaming the streets kept increasing. Based on the foregoing, the researcher is interested in investigating the influence of family life education on sexual behaviour of secondary school students in Niger state.
Statement of the Problem
Niger state government, in 1999 felt it can no longer cater for the numerous boarding schools in the state. The complaint was that the running costs of boarding schools were too high for government to shoulder. Consequently ninety-five percent of the schools in the state were deboarded. Today the situation is that children go to day secondary schools. It has become very difficult for both teachers and parents to control children’s sexual behaviour because parents may not know when the child follows his/her peers and never goes to school after leaving home. Likewise teachers would not know why a child has not been seen in the school since most parents do not follow their wards to school daily. Most negative behaviours such as casual sex, prostitution, anal sex, oral sex and kissing seem to be copied from peers outside and in schools, the result is that teenage pregnancy is on the increase in the state, cases of failed abortion had been reported by principals severally, cases of sexually transmitted diseases had been reported by principals severally, motherless homes had also increased. School dropouts had increased leading to girls going to early marriage and some becoming prostitutes. Hence young boys becoming fathers when they are not ready, and teenage girls becoming mothers when they are not ready. Hence, because of the aforementioned problems there is need to find out strategies that will help improve students sexual behaviours through family life education at home.
