Senior secondary students are usually in their early and late teenage years; this period encompasses pubertal development with sexual characteristics that are explored by them. This study is thus aimed at assessing sexual behavior vis-à-vis behavioral outcomes amongst secondary school students in Edo state. This cross sectional study was conducted on 462 students in some secondary schools in Edo state using a multistaged sampling technique. Results: The mean ages of the subjects were 15.31±3.87 and 16.11± 2.97 for females and males respectively. 33% of respondents indulge in watching sex movies; however this percentage were predominantly males accounting for 24%. This percentage was closely followed by more males (20.6%) indulging in sex than females (7.8%). At the age of 13 years males and females had the same percentages (4.6%) in terms of indulging in sexual intercourse, at 14 and 15 years more males involved in sex than females. More than half of the respondents (55.6%) reported being shy to ask for condoms for sex despite the fact that 89.6% of respondents did not approve of premarital sex. Similarly 52.8% of respondents feel shy to see a doctor or nurse when they are faced with the challenge of sexually transmitted disease. Conclusion: Males across the teenage years were more exploitative in indulging in sex than their female counterparts. We therefore recommend enlightenment on safe behavioral approach to sex and sexual outcomes amongst secondary school students to forestall unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted disease.
Keywords: Secondary School, Sexual Behavior, Students
