Multiple sexual partnerships among Nigerian undergraduates: Students’ perspectives of the underlying factors

Abstract

Introduction:  This study explored factors influencing multiple sexual partnerships among Nigerian undergraduates.
Method:  Students aged 16-30 years took part in four focus group discussions that was followed by a cross-sectional survey involving 819 students in this age group.
Result:  Peer pressure and strong moral values were identified as major factors influencing multiple sexual partnerships among students. Knowledge of sexually transmitted infection (STI), living off campus and boredom were ranked less important. Ranking of factors influencing multiple sexual partnerships however varied between male and female students.
Conclusion:  The study showed that students had perceptions that various individual and environmental factors influence multiple sexual partnerships. These factors were noted to either encourage or discourage multiple sexual partnerships among students but more factors were identified as encouraging such partnerships than those discouraging it. Similarly, male students tended to rank these factors as having significant influence on multiple sexual partnerships than their female counterparts.