Self-efficacy and unwanted sexual intercourse: ‘Reproductive health education programme for high-school students in Vojvodina’
Article Category: Original scientific article
Published Online: Mar 21, 2022
Page range: 93 - 100
Received: May 08, 2021
Accepted: Feb 10, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjph-2022-0013
Keywords
© 2022 National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Introduction
Studies have shown the importance of self-efficacy in the domain of risky sexual behaviour. The aim of this study was to examine the association of unwanted sexual intercourse among secondary-school students with socio-demographic factors and perceived self-efficacy, and to assess the effectiveness of the programme on reproductive health.
Methods
The study involved 5,026 second-grade students in 72 high schools in the Province of Vojvodina, Serbia (APV). They were surveyed before and after the implementation of the extracurricular ‘Reproductive health education programme for secondary-school students in APV’. A questionnaire consisting of 57 questions (socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour of students regarding reproductive health, and a general self-efficacy scale) was used as the research instrument.
Results
One quarter of students had engaged in unwanted sexual intercourse on one or more occasions. Students with poor material status were twice as likely to engage in unwanted sexual intercourse (ОR=2.01; 95%CI=1.07–3.75) as students with average or good material status. Students who did not engage in unwanted sexual intercourse had a higher self-efficacy score than students who who did (t=2.903; p<0.01). After the programme was completed, there was an increase in general self-efficacy.
Conclusion
Poor material status is a predictor of unwanted sexual intercourse. Students who have a higher level of self-efficacy engaged to a lesser degree in unwanted sexual intercourse. The programme is effective in terms of increasing general self-efficacy, and can be applied to encourage responsible sexual behaviour.