CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF PRE-MARITAL SEX AMONG THE SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ENUGU WEST EDUCATIONAL ZONE.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Sex is a universal term, one would expect a great deal to known about it. But this is a case, partly, because all societies regulate sexual activities. The family institution is where sexual activities or intercourse is expected to take place between two opposite sex. Pre-marital sex is not confined to young people alone; a good number of people who are not married are all vulnerable to pre-marital sex. This is evidence by the large number of unintended pregnancies, many of which get terminated in back street clinics. Alo (2008), said that there is a high rate of sexual transmitted infections among the 15-24years old, and an increasing number of girls dropping out from school, due to unwanted pregnancies, is as a result of pre-marital sex.
In recent report released by the Center for the Study of Adolescents (C S A), the age of sexual debate is now at all time low of between 8-12years. In fact, 8 out of 10 young people would have had sex before they reach the age of 20. This increases the chances of unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases as well as the chances of dropping out of school. Also, the consequences of pre-marital, sexually transmitted disease, as well as HIV are higher in females. If a young girl becomes pregnant, she places herself and the unborn child at further risk. This is because; a young girls body will not have developed to the point of being able to handle child birth safety. Even if a young mother escapes several health consequences, she must still face serious responsibilities of parenthood. This is aside the fact that she drops out from school and except in rare cases, she may never go back to school again. Alo (2008), said that modern society is becoming freer in many different ways, so that pre-marital sex is becoming more ordinary. Pre-marital sex seems to be causing many societal disturbances such as disorderly household and more corruption of public morals.
The absence of social economic opportunities for girls, women, and the demands placed on them, coupled the gender inequalities, known to exits within the educational system, Mensch and Lioyd (1998), said that there are many results to unsatisfactory school experiences, poor academic performances, and resignation to, or preference to early childhood.
According to Mensch and Lioyd (1999), pregnancy is often thought to disrupt the education of the adolescent girls, teenage reproductive behavior may be endogenous to school completion, in that many of the same factors lead to drop out and early child bearing.
Zabin and Kiragu (1998), speculate that in sub-saharan African, schooling may actually encourage sexual onsets, especially as it tends to remove young people from the supervision of traditional caretakers. As a consequence, more and more adolescents have to negotiate sexual maturation and sexual initiation in a different context from the counter part in prior generation.
In conjunction with the trend towards an increase in the age of marriage, the age at sexual initiation among young women has either remained the same or risen. At the same time, Mensch etal (2006), said that, a shift has occurred in many countries towards an increase in the proportion of initiating sex before marriage at the age when adolescent could still be enrolled to school.
According to the Oxford dictionary 6th edition, sex is defined as a physical activity between two people in which they touch each others genital organs and which may include sexual intercourse. Then pre-marital sex is a sexual contact between two opposite sex, normally between two lovers outside or before the blessings of marriage. The rampant speed of pre-marital sex among the secondary school students particularly in Enugu West and Nigeria at large is an issue, if not properly controlled can cripple the cultural values in our society. It does not only ruin our cultural values but also our moral values.
Youth or secondary students engage themselves into the act of pre-marital sex, when they start noticing growth and development in their bodies, like the deepening of voice in boys, growing of pubic hairs, increase in mammary gland (breast), and increase in the hip for girls, melodious voice for girls etc. The development on both genders cannot be understood outside what is generally termed adolescence.
According to Oxford dictionary 6th edition, adolescence is defined as a time in a persons life, when he or she grows from child to adult. In other words, it can be seen as the transitional period of physical and psychological development childhood and maturity.
Eze (2001), defined adolescence as to group in stage of human development in an adult person between the ages of 20-14 while adolescent is at the age of 13-14. Physically, adolescents are still influenced by their inherited genes, but now the inheritance interacts with new social conditions, family, peers, school, dating and friendship. Biologically, psychological maturation and puberty enhances the inmate urges to experiment with sexual feelings and enables them to perform or act out such feelings with willing partners of opposite sex. Socially, an adolescent has already spent years interacting with parents, friends, and teachers, and now, new experiences arise that allows relationship take over in different forms, especially concerning the opposite sex, dating and intimacy. Also, the cognitive development of adolescents which involve thought processes that are more abstract and idealistic; enable them to develop a separate, unique identity that enhances interaction with the opposite sex.
Adolescence is crucial time for the emergence of anti-social behavior, such as pre-marital sex and its consequences which include unwanted pregnancy, criminal, abortion, dropping out from school, health risk problems, to mention a few. Adolescent pregnancy has become a dilemma in most secondary schools in Nigeria and most teens become pregnant out of wedlock. In a rough estimate, one of every 10 adolescent females becomes pregnant each year. Other consequences where secondary schools are concerned include the teenage mother dropping out of school, failing to gain employment, becoming dependent on welfare, becoming a burden to their family, allowing them to become a prey for human traffickers, or getting involved with commercial sex activities.
Statement of the Problem
Pre-marital sex is an issue that has eaten deep into the fabric of our society at large and particularly in Enugu West educational zone. It has been a controversial issue, in most places, attracting a total condemnation. It is pertinent here to note that some factors like poverty, media influence, drug and alcohol, sexuality pressure etc, permits and greatly encourage pre-marital sex, but nevertheless paid little or no attention to its social, political, economic and health consequences. Pre-marital sex has lead to the increase in death rate of the secondary school students in Enugu West educational zone, more especially girls when battling over one boy, one of the consequences, which is unwanted pregnancy, in the process of trying to terminate or abort the baby (ies), loss their lives. The increase of this parasitic like phenomenon called pre-marital sex is as such that , if it is not carefully looked into, will not only damage the societal value but our economic growth and development.
Pre-marital sex reduces the social class, career achieving of many youths, especially secondary school students. It is against this background that the researchers want to find out the causes and consequences of pre-marital sex and also to know the extent the causes and consequences contribute to the problem in the society, using Enugu West as a case study.
Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of this study is to identify the causes and consequences of pre-marital sex, while specifically, the researchers want to:
Identify the various factors that causes pre-marital sex
Examine the consequences of pre-marital sex
Find out the possible solutions to pre-marital sex.
Research Questions
Based on the research, the following questions where formulated.
What are the causes of pre-marital sex?
What are the consequences of pre-marital sex?
What are the various ways by which pre-marital sex can be controlled among the secondary school students?
Significance of the Study
This study highlights the causes and consequences of pre-marital sex among the secondary school students. We hope that this study will help to teach other educators on how to handle adolescents not to see sex as a taboo or must never be discussed with children.
It is also very significant to parents, so that they will know how to educate their children on the effects of pre-marital sex in the society. This study is of a high relevance to further researchers in general in the sense that, it will serve as a reference material to them in case anyone wants to treat a problem similar to this.
Scope of the Study
It is the intention of the researchers to take a closer look at speed rate of pre-marital sex among the secondary school students in Enugu West education zone.
Definition of Basic Concepts
Cause: According to Oxford Advanced Learners dictionary 6th edition, defined cause as the person or thing that makes something happen. A reason for having a particular feeling or behaving in a particular way. It is a substance exerting its power into act or making one thing to be in existence. That which produces or effects result; That from which anything proceeds and without which it would not exist.
Consequences: this is the result of something that happened. That which follows something, on which it depends; that which is produced by a cause. It is power to or produces an effect. Importance with respect to what came after.
Pre: This is simply before
Marital: this is connected with marriage or with the relationship between a husband and wife.
Sex: still according to Oxford Advance Learners dictionary, sex is physical activity between two people in which they touch each others genital organs and which may include sexual intercourse.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OFRELATED LITERATURE
In this chapter, a good explanation of those factors that causes pre-marital sex in Enugu West education zone are illustrated.
Sex is a natural phenomenon designed by God as a means of procreation but too often, youth engage in sex for purposes other than that designed by God.
This chapter is written under the following headings:
The Factors That Cause Pre-Marital Sex
Consequences of Pre-Marital Sex
Ways of Controlling Pre-Marital Sex among Secondary School Students
Summary of the Literature Review
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