Effects of counter-attitudinal advocacy and emotional coaching on attitude to sexual intercourse among adolescent students in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Risky sexual behaviour is any behaviour that puts an individual at the risk of having a sexual health issue such as contracting a sexually transmitted disease including HIV and AIDS, and unwanted pregnancy among others. Sexually transmitted infections can further lead to serious health issues like infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease and even cancer. This study investigated the effects of two therapies: counter-attitudinal advocacy and emotional coaching on attitude to sexual intercourse among adolescents in senior secondary schools. Two research hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test control group research design was used for the study. A multi-stage sampling process was used to select 106 adolescents (58 males and 48 females) who engage in risky sexual behaviour, from three local government areas in Oyo State, Nigeria. Data collection instrument was the Sexual Risk Survey Scale, risky sexual behaviour, Beliefs and Self Efficacy Scales. The hypotheses formulated were tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Findings from the study revealed that there is a significant difference in the post-test scores on attitudes towards sexual intercourse among students after exposure to counter attitudinal-advocacy and emotional coaching therapy. The interaction of gender and experimental conditions did not produce significant effect on the post-test scores on attitude to sexual intercourse.. Based on the findings it is recommended that there should be an integration of counter-attitudinal advocacy and emotional coaching in remediating predisposition of adolescents to risky sexual behaviours.