IMPACT OF COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION ON RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the impact of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) on risky sexual behaviour among senior secondary school students in Lagos State, Nigeria. A quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test non-equivalent group design was employed. The population consisted of all senior secondary school students in Lagos State, with SS2 students serving as the target population. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a sample of 138 students, randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The Sexual Risk Survey (SRS) and the self-constructed Risky Sexual Behaviour Questionnaire (RSBQ) were used for data collection. The instruments were validated through expert judgment, and reliability testing yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.88. Ethical considerations, including informed consent and confidentiality, were upheld. Data were collected through pre-test and post-test assessments, and hypotheses were tested using ANCOVA at a 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed a significant impact of CSE on reducing risky sexual behaviour among students (F = 170.01, p < 0.05), indicating lower risky sexual behaviour scores in the experimental group. There was no significant interaction between gender and CSE (F = 0.49, p > 0.05), suggesting that CSE benefits both male and female students equally. However, a significant interaction was found between age and CSE (F = 5.52, p < 0.05), indicating that CSE effectiveness varies with age. The study concludes that CSE is essential in reducing risky sexual behaviour among adolescents and recommends its integration into the school curriculum, the adoption of age-appropriate teaching strategies, and the implementation of gender-inclusive programmes.