Attitude, practice and perception of sexuality education among parents in Obio-Akpor local government area of Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Sexuality education (SE) has remained a controversial issue in Nigeria more than 3 decades after the first case of HIV/AIDS was discovered as many parents still have a wrong view about it. This study therefore assessed the attitude, practice and perception of SE among parents in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used among 330 consenting parents who were recruited through a multi-stage sampling method from 3 selected communities in Obio/Akpor LGA. The results of this study showed that majority of the respondents had a poor understanding of the concept of SE though almost all of them approved of the teaching of SE. However, a few practically engaged in teaching their children SE. This study showed that majority of our respondents had a poor understanding of the concept of sexuality education; there is therefore need for continuous enlightenment by the government on sexuality education targeting parents and using available media resources.

Keywords: Parents, Sexuality education, Attitude, Practice, Perception

Afr. J. Biomed. Res. Vol. 22 (January, 2019); 51- 58