SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR, UNWANTED PREGNANCY AND TRIPARTITE LEVELS OF DECISION-MAKING REGARDING INDUCED ABORTION AMONG NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Keywords:
Sexual Behaviour, Unwanted Pregnancy, Decision-making, Induced Abortion, University Students, NigeriaAbstract
This study examines factors that influence sexual behaviour, unwanted pregnancy and decision-making regarding induced abortion among Nigerian undergraduate students using University of Lagos as the study location. The in-depth interview research method was adopted to achieve the objectives of the study. The findings of the study reveal a high level of sexual networking and unwanted pregnancy among students. In addition, there are three types of decisions to be taken when an unwanted pregnancy is to be terminated by undergraduate students. The three decisions are: the decision to terminate the pregnancy, the decision on the nature of the method to be used to terminate the pregnancy, and the decision on the place where the pregnancy will be terminated. These three decisions are guided by other tripartite factors which are structural, personal, and operational in nature. The study further reveals that most of the decision-making regarding induced abortion by undergraduate students were done without proper consideration of associated operational factors. Consequently, most of the procured induced abortions were carried out in a clandestine, hasty, and unsafe condition. These findings suggest the need to develop appropriate intervention programmes to educate Nigerian undergraduate students that are sexually active on the need to consistently adopt efficient contraceptive methods in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies. In addition, students must be enlightened to consider safety in their decision-making regarding induced abortion.    ÂReferences
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