Relationship Between Religiosity And Sexual Behavior Among Christian High School Students In Kiambu County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Despite the pervasive nature of religiosity in the Kenyan population, there is an increase in risky sexual behavior among high school students in the country. The influence of religion, which discourages sexual activity among adolescents, is not clear in the Kenyan context. This study sought to establish the influence of religiosity among Christian high school students in Kiambu County. The study was based on Kohlberg’s moral development theory and used correlational study design to establish the relationship between the variables. The main variables of the study were religiosity and sexual behaviour. The target population was Christian high school students in Kiambu County. Multistage sampling was used to select participants from urban, rural and suburban areas which comprised boys boarding, girls boarding and mixed day schools. The sample comprised of 398 respondents. Validity of the instrument was established and a reliability of 0.75 was found. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics such as measures of central tendency and percentages were used to describe the data while Pearson’s Correlation coefficient was used to establish the relationship between religiosity and sexual behavior. The findings of the study revealed that a majority (60.8%) were either religious or very religious. The findings revealed that 40% of the students had had sex, 58% of whom did not use a condom. The study also found no relationship between religiosity and sexual behaviour of high school students(r=-.322, p>.05). A majority (94.7%) of the students felt that counselling was appropriate in addressing sexual behaviour among them. The study concludes that involvement in religious activities may not necessarily influence the sexual behaviour of high school students. There is therefore need for religious leaders to include appropriate sex education in their religious activities in order to positively influence their sexual behaviour.