INCREASED RATE OF TEEN PREGNANCY AND IMPACT OF DETERMINANTS ON SENIOR CLASS STUDENTS IN TWO SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SAGAMU, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Rates of teen pregnancy vary widely around the world, from 143 per 1000 in some sub-Saharan African nations to 2.9 per 1000 in South Korea. Young girls in Africa, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Haiti, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Yemen have the highest risk of maternal death. (Papri, Khanam, Ara, & Panna, 2016). Children of single parents are more susceptible to teenage pregnancy because they lack information and were not properly educated on safe sex by their parents, schools, or development organizations, which may have helped them deal with friends who lure them into sex prematurely. This study aimed to determine the Increased Rate of Teen Pregnancy and Impact of Determinants on Senior Class Students in Two Selected Secondary Schools in Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria. A descriptive cross sectional design was used for the study and this allowed data to be collected among two hundred and ninety seven (297) respondents. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics were used such as frequency table and percentage. The mean and standard deviation of the ages of the respondents were found to be 20.9±2.5years respectively and majority of the respondents were Muslims and were from the Yoruba tribe, more than sixty per cent of the respondents affirm their knowledge that teenage pregnancy is a pregnancy that occurs in females between the ages of 15 and 19years. Generally, majority of the respondents had good knowledge of teenage pregnancy and its negative effect on their lives. Respondent knowledge on teenage pregnancy and its impacts on their lives were found to be significant with increased teenage pregnancy with p-value less than 0.05. Furthermore, peer pressure and poverty were also found to be statistically significant with the increased prevalence of teenage pregnancy which implies that effect of peer pressure and poverty are one of the leading factors of increased prevalence of teenage pregnancy. It was therefore concluded that Teenage pregnancy in high schools is influenced by different factors which includes: poverty, peer pressure, inadequate knowledge and so on. Additionally, it was suggested that centers for reproductive health education for both parents and teens be created, as well as initiatives for assisting teenagers (especially girls) from low-income homes, as poverty has been identified as one of the primary influences on teen pregnancy.