FAMILY COMMUNICATION AND YOUTH PERCEPTION ON PREGNANCY, SEXUALITY AND SEX EDUCATION
Authors:
Neema Mwalyagile
Abstract:
The sexual problem among youths has become one of the major issues being debated amongst Tanzanian society. The increasing number of teenagers who get pregnant before getting married is considered a disgrace by the Tanzanian public. Therefore, this study was conducted among teenagers in Mbeya City, to examine their perception of sexuality and teenage pregnancy regarding sexuality. There were 100 Tanzanian participants selected for this study, with ages ranging from 13 to 17 years old. Overall results show that majority of the participants had a conservative- inclined perception of sexuality as well as teenage pregnancy regarding sexuality. However, daily school participants with parents who communicated more openly about sexuality issues will have a more conservative perception of sexuality and teenage pregnancy. In addition, girls were found to have a more conservative perception of both issues than boys. Discussion centres upon the importance of parental influence on promoting positive youth development, especially in obtaining appropriate sexual knowledge and reducing risky sexual behaviour among teenagers. The importance of sex education in school is also discussed.