Influence of socio-economic status on attitudes towards premarital sex (PMS) among secondary school students in Western Kenya: Case study of Bungoma county, Kenya

Abstract

A neighbourhood lacking descent environment in qualitative terms is paying a hidden cost. The study examined The need to predict and design preventive measures against HIV/AIDS has provided the valuable impetus for sexual behaviour and intervention studies in the last few decades. Previous research on young peoples' premarital sexual (PMS) activity has shown a wide spectrum of factors that facilitate premarital sexual activity. However, Poverty or economic depravity in particular, has been strongly linked to premarital sexual activity among young people especially girls. This study examined the premarital sexual attitudes and behaviour of secondary school students in relation to socio-economic background of their families in the larger Bungoma district, Kenya. Purposive and systematic random sampling methods were used to select the study area and the 284 respondents, respectively for the study. EPI INFO Version 6 computer software was used for data analysis. Results revealed that girls were more sexually experienced than boys of the same age and academic level. Further analysis showed that gender influenced the attitude of the youth towards PMS. Although the general attitude of the youth towards premarital sex (PMS) was favourable (generally favoured delayed initiation of sexual activities), the expressed attitude was however inconsistent with the behaviour as a large proportion (52%) of the youth had had experience with PMS. These incongruities in expressed attitudes and behaviour were more obvious when attitudes towards PMS were regressed against family socio-economic background.