Sex Behaviour Change in Response to the HIV/AIDS Threat among University Students in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State

Abstract

Objective:To assess the sexual behaviour change of unmarried students of Ebonyi State University (EBSU) Abakaliki, in response to the HIV/AIDSepidemic. Setting: Nigerian undergraduate students belong to the
age group that is sexually active, and prior studies have documented an appreciable knowledge of the HIV pandemic among them. Hetero-sexual intercourse remains the commonest route of HIV/AIDStransmission. Design: A cross sectional descriptive survey of selfreported sexual behaviour changes of students of EBSU. Result: There was a high level (95.9%) of awareness of HIV/AIDS, andmore than 94%knowledge of the various routes of its transmission. About one third (31.9%) had misconception that deep kissing did not transmit HIB, and another 7.5%believed that causal contact such as shaking hands transmits the virus. Generally, 66.7% reported adopting various sex behaviour changes. Specific behaviour changes include avoidance of premarital sex
(34.7%), consistent use of condoms (13.6%), faithfulness to one partner (11.1%), reduction of the number of sex partners (2.5%), and various combinations of these (41.3%). Awareness of HIV/AIDS and age were
significant factors in these behavioural changes. Conclusion: A high proportion of the students in this study reported having changed their sex behaviour in response to theHIV/AIDS epidemic. It is noteworthy that
more people reported avoidance of premarital sex as their preferred sexual behaviour change.

Key words: Sex behaviour; Change; HIV/AIDS; Students;Ebonyi State University Abakaliki.