ROLE OF POVERTY, GENDER AND PERCEPTION OF HIV-AIDS ON STUDENTS’ SEXUAL RISK BEHAVIOUR

ROLE OF POVERTY, GENDER AND PERCEPTION OF HIV-AIDS ON STUDENTS’ SEXUAL RISK BEHAVIOUR

ABSTRACT

The study investigated the role of poverty, gender and perception of HIV/AIDS on students sexual risk behaviour. Participants were 600 students enrolled in different courses (NCE1-111) in College of Education, Jalingo, Taraba State, Nigeria. The independent variables were poverty, gender and perception of HIV/AIDS, each having two levels, while the dependent variables was sexual risk behaviour measured with the sexual risk scale participants’ condom use and number of sexual partners one has. Three hypotheses were tested to establish the influence of each of the variable on the sexual risk behaviour of participants. A 2×2×2 analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that poverty has a significant influence on participants’ sexual risk behaviour F(1, 592) = 11.46, P < .001. Perception of HIV/AIDS was not significant F(1, 592) = .52, P > 0.05 whereas, gender was also significant at F(1, 592) = 6.07, P < 0.01. There was no interaction effect of poverty, gender and perception of HIV/AIDS. The results as a whole indicate that poverty and gender are strong factors in predicting sexual risk behaviours among students. Implication of the study was discussed and suggestions and recommendations were advanced for further studies.