Influence of Demographic Variables on Factors Responsible for Premarital Sexual Activities among Emerging Adults in Kwara State

Abstract

Demographic attributes are part of the self-establishment of the youths which seem to influence their conducts; including sexual activities. This study thus investigated the influence of demographic variables of educational attainment, family type and gender on factors responsible for premarital erotic activities among emerging adults in Kwara State. The inquiry adopted narrative survey model. A multi-stage selection procedure was used to select 423 respondents across institutions of higher education in Kwara State. However, 397 questionnaires were adequate for data analysis. A researcher-designed instrument entitled “Demographic Variables and Premarital Sexual Activities Questionnaire (DVPSAQ)” was used to collect data for the study. The questionnaire possessed a test consistency co-efficient of 0.60. The hypothesis was tested using a 3-way Analysis of Variance statistics at the 0.05 alpha level. The findings of the study revealed that demographic variables of gender, family type and level of education have no significant influence on premarital sexual activities of emerging adults in Kwara State. It was recommended based on the findings that educational stakeholders should organize sexuality education seminars in the schools and communities for emerging adults and counselling centres should be established in every tertiary institution and the counsellors shape students’ perception towards healthy sexual conduct regardless of demographic attributes.