CAUSES OF PREMARITAL SEX AS EXPRESSED BY ADOLESCENTS IN YAGBA WEST, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

Oct 15, 2026

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Pre-marital sex is defined as sexual intercourse between individuals who are not married to each other. This descriptive survey investigated causes of premarital sex as expressed by adolescents in Yagba West, Kogi State, using secondary school students as the population. Data were collected with a researcher-designed questionnaire, analyzed through mean ratings, and null hypotheses were tested using independent t-tests at the 0.05 significance level. Findings highlighted wealthy individuals’ enticement as the main cause, with no significant differences by gender, religion, or age, and recommended demystifying sexuality via counseling and education.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Concept and background of premarital sex

Youth sexual health and HIV/AIDS context

Education, condoms, and reported gaps

Rationale for the study

CAUSES OF PREMARITAL SEX AS EXPRESSED BY ADOLESCENTS IN YAGBA WEST, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA Lateef Omotosho Adegboyega* Department of Counsellor Education, Faculty of Education, University ofIlorin, Ilorin, Nigeria, [adegboyega.lo@unilorin.edu.ng](adegboyega.lo@unilorin.edu.ng) Olumayowa Ayorinde Jacob Department of Social Sciences Education, Faculty of Education, University ofIlorin, Ilorin, Nigeria Abstract Pre-marital sex is sexual intercourse engaged in by persons who are not married to eachother. This study therefore investigated causes of premarital sex as expressed by adolescents in Yagba West, Kogi State. This study adopts descriptive survey research type. The population for the study was all the secondary school students (adolescents) in Yagba West, Kogi State. A researchers–designed questionnaire was used to collect the data for the study. In analyzing the data collected mean rating was used to answer the research question. All the null hypotheses generated for the study were tested using the independent t-test method of statistical analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Finding revealed that main cause of premarital sex among Secondary School students in Yagba West, Kogi State was that enticement by wealthy individuals lure adolescents into premarital sex. Furthermore, it was discovered from the study that there is no significant difference in the opinion of secondary school students on causes of premarital sex on the basis of gender, religion and age. It was recommended that educational psychologists and counsellors as a first step have the task of demystifying sexuality by providing the youngsters with adequate and relevant information regarding sexuality and reproductive health. Keywords: Adolescents, Causes, Premarital Sex, Yagba West, Kogi State. Introduction Pre-marital sex is sexual intercourse engaged in by persons who are not married to eachother. It is generally used in reference to individuals who are presumed not yet of marriageable age, or between adults who will presumably marry eventually, but who are engaging in sexual activity prior to marriage (Lucas, 2000; Barbra, Sprecher, Treger, & Sakaluk, 2001; Ramesh, 2008) . Pre-marital sex is sex before marriage and it is generally found among the youths. It involves fornication, rape, defilement and incest. The causes behind it have been established including curiosity among the youth, proof of manhood, lust, pornography and its adverse effects, insanity and sex promiscuity as well as moral decadence among the youths (Choe, Hatmadji, Podhisita, Raymundo & Thapa, 2004) . Worldwide, rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among the youth are soaring: one-third of the 340 million new STDs each year occur in people under 25 years of age (Fernández-Villaverde, Jeremy & Nezih, 2010) . Each year, more than one in every 20 youth contracts a curable STDs. More than half of all new HIV infections occur in people between the ages of 15 to 24 years. The sexual health needs for adolescent girls who are generally overlooked, stigma and vulnerability affects particular groups of men as well as women (Kiragu & Zabin, 1993) . According to the National Synthesis Report on the district initiative on HIV/AIDS action in the year 1995, its was found that between the ages of 13 and 19 years of all the school going age, 62% were females and 48% were males who were sexually active. Much as the figure in 2000-2001 deflated from 52% and 39% respectively, it is reportedly so much happening and evident in the sub-Saharan Africa (Lucas, 2000) . For instance, a study by Ramesh (2008) found that one third of the students (39%) had premarital sex. However, youths are still practicing pre-marital sex and thus they share the blame and responsibility in the spread of HIV/AIDS increase. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is the world most deadly undeclared war and Africa gave birth to its brant (Dittus & Jacard, 2000) . According to UNICEF (1998), in Africa where some 200,000

FAQs

What was the main purpose of the study?

The study investigated the causes of premarital sex as expressed by adolescents in Yagba West, Kogi State.

How were data and hypotheses analyzed?

Mean rating was used to answer the research question, and null hypotheses were tested using independent t-test at the 0.05 level of significance.

What was identified as the main cause of premarital sex among the students?

The main cause was enticement by wealthy individuals that lures adolescents into premarital sex.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Dipper