Psychological Predictors of Premarital Sexual Relationship among In-school Adolescents in a Western Nigerian City

摘要

Adolescence is a stage in life that is considered very turbulent as the psychological and physiological changes that accompany this period predispose young people to risky sexual behaviour. Therefore, finding out factors that predict sexual behaviour among this group is an important issue for research. It is against this backdrop that this study was designed to investigate psychological predictors of premarital sexual relationships among in-school adolescents in a western Nigerian city. The descriptive survey research design was adopted in the study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 675 respondents for the study although analysis was based on the 643 questionnaires that were returned from the field and found useful for analysis. Data was collected using a self-developed and modified instrument from standardized scales. The questionnaire was examined for reliability using the Cronbach alpha which yielded 0.81 coefficients. On the spot administration technique was used to collect data and the generated data were analysed using inferential statistics of regression models at 0.05 alpha level. The findings of the study showed that all the psychological variables investigated were found to significantly predict premarital sexual relationships among the respondents. Findings showed that self-esteem (R = 0.290, Adj. R~(2) = 0.080, F_((1,641))= 19.508, p = 0.000<0.05), self-efficacy (R = 0.290, Adj. R~(2) = 0.080, F_((1,641)) = 19.508, p = 0.000<0.05), and attitude towards premarital sex (R = 0.290, Adj. R~(2) = 0.080, F_((1,641)) = 19.508, p = 0.000<0.05) significantly predicted premarital sexual relationships among the respondents. It was therefore concluded that modifying psychological factors of self-esteem, self-efficacy and attitude towards premarital sex can be effective in regulating involvement in premarital sexual relationships among in-school adolescents in the city. Scaling up the level of school counseling especially in the area of sexual adjustment and modification of the psychological variables investigated were recommended.