Media And Sexual Behaviour Of Secondary School Students: A Case Of Arusha Municipality

ABSTRACT

Secondary school student‟s sexual behaviour is one of the most serious problems facing the world. Secondary school students continue to be sexually active regardless of associated problems such as unwanted pregnancies, sexual transmitted diseases (STDs), unprotected sex and alarming incidences of HIV/AIDS. These problems lead to a burden on the part of the family, community and nation at large in terms of human pain, suffering and health care expenditures. Although efforts have been taken by the government to address these issues, problems are still rapidly increasing throughout the country. If challenges that face secondary school students are not examined there is a danger of destroying a large and growing segment for the young population. The overall objective of this study was to determine the influence of media on secondary school student‟s sexual behaviour in order to generate empirical information on strategies to address the problem. The study adopted a cross sectional design by using open and closed ended questionnaires from a sample size of 120 respondents aged 11 – 18 years. Interviews with key informants and focus group discussion (FGD) were also used during the study. The analysis of collected data was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The key findings indicate that secondary school student‟s sexual behaviour was influenced by demographic characteristics such as age, and sex. Sexual behaviour was high among secondary school students (15 years and above). Watching sexual channels and visiting of pornographic websites was also associated with secondary school student‟s sexual behaviour. The study recommends that the government should reinforce the government Acts passed by the parliament on the way media should be

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run so as to rectify the current trends of media on sexual behaviour of secondary school students.