An assessment of sexual practices among urban high school students in Swaziland

Abstract

This study assessed the sexual practices of 300 urban high school students drawn from two urban areas in Swaziland (females=50%; mean age=16.8 years; SD=1.3). The instruments used to source data from the respondents were a semistructured questionnaire with open-ended and closed questions and follow-up interviews. The study noted very high sexual activity among both male and female students, with 81.4% of the students having engaged in sexual intercourse. Many of the sexually-debuted respondents (42%) had two or more partners. Level of condom and contraceptive use was found to be low, resulting in many contracting STIs and HIV/AIDS as well as unwanted pregnancies. Rigorous campaigns through the use of such things as drama, peer group discussions and outreach programmes could go a long way in bringing about behaviour change among these youth.