ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Sexual addiction often characterized by compulsive sexual thought and behaviour, is an emerging concern among undergraduates’ students. It is is associated with numerous influences on sexual behaviour and various other aspects of the lives of young persons and these influences ranges from positive to negative which also affects the society as the population of young persons is predominant in our society. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the prevalence, knowledge of, attitude towards and factors influencing Sexual Addiction among Undergraduate Students in University of Benin, Benin City, Edo state with the purpose of knowing the harm, problems, consequences, help institute preventive measures and also to make recommendations. METHODOLOGY: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among four hundred and fifty respondents. Respondents were then selected using a multistage sampling technique and a structured self-administered questionnaire which was adapted from the Sexual Addiction Screening Tool (SAST). Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Scientific Solutions (SPSS) version 25.0 and quantitative variable will be represented as frequency tables, contingency tables and pie charts for statistical analysis. Level of significance set at p<0.050 and 95% confidence interval. RESULT: The mean age of respondents was 21.26 (± 2.63) years. More than nine-tenth i.e. three hundred and twenty-three (93%) of respondents had good knowledge of sexual addiction and less than one-tenth i.e. twenty-seven (7.7%) had poor knowledge. The association between level of study and place of residence was significant (p= 0.001 and p= 0.031 OR= 0.648 CI= 0.192-0.823) respectively. More than four-fifth i.e. three hundred and twenty-eight (93.7%) had negative attitude toward sexual addiction and less than one-fifth i.e. twenty-two (6.3%) had a positive attitude toward sexual addiction, ethnicity and knowledge has a statistically relevance xiii with sexual addiction (p=0.001 OR=3.320 CI=1.800-6.140 p=0.023 OR=1.812 CI=0.123-1.540 respectively). the prevalence of sexual addiction was low with more than nine-tenth i.e. three hundred and forty (97.1%) of respondents recording low prevalence, marital status and place of residence were significant (p= 0.043 OR=3.696 CI=1.044-13.082, p=0.022 OR=0.246 CI=0.074-0.815 respectively). Less than one-tenth of the respondents were sexually abuse, 29 respondent used recreational drugs and 21 respondents reported staying in romantic relationships after they were, they were emotionally or physically abused. CONCLUSION: The knowledge and attitude of the concept of sexual addiction was very good among the undergraduate students in University of Benin and the prevalence of sexual addiction was low. Determinate of sexual addiction were sexual abuse as a child or respondent, use of recreational drugs and emotional abuse. Recognizing and addressing the root cause of sexual addiction can help make individuals recognize the condition early which can lead to early diagnosis and early treatments to prevent further harm to the health of the individuals. This study understood the need for increased awareness, counselling, and intervention programs to address sexual addiction among undergraduates, promoting healthier lifestyles and academic success. KEYWORD: Sexual, Addiction, Knowledge, Attitude, Prevalence, Benin city, Edo state and undergraduates.
