Pattern and perception of risky sexual behaviour among young people in south west Nigeria

Background: Young people constitute a fifth of the global population and have been identified as a group that are vulnerable to risky sexual behaviour. The consequences of such behaviour may include STIs including HIV and AIDS and can have deleterious effects on their current and long term reproductive health. This study described the pattern, perception and risk factors influencing risky sexual behaviour among students enrolled in the freshman year of a tertiary institution in South- West Nigeria. Methods: The study entailed a quantitative cross sectional survey among a total sampling of 222 freshmen. Information was collected on four types of risky sexual behaviour viz: sexual intercourse without the use of condoms, multiple sexual partners, early sexual debut and sex under the influence of alcohol. Perception of sexual risky behaviour was scored and categorized into good and poor. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis with level of significance set at 5%. Result: More than half of the respondents were male (55.1%) and were sexually active (54.6%). About a fifth had early sexual debut (20.8%), had multiple sexual partners (22.5%) and had sex under the influence of alcohol (23.3%) while 47.3% reported always using condoms. More than half of the respondents had poor perception of risky sexual behaviour (51.8%). Students in the age group 15-24years were less likely to use condoms (p<0.05) while males were more likely to have multiple sexual partners (p<0.05). Conclusion: Interventions targeted at addressing the perception of risky sexual behaviour among students are advocated.