IMPORTANT REASONS WHY SEXUAL DECISION MAKING ARE NECESSARY

Abstract

Adolescence, derived from the Latin word “adolescere” meaning “to grow up” is a critical developmental period. During adolescence, major biological as well as psychological developments take place. Development of sexuality is an important bio‑psycho‑social development, which takes an adult shape during this period. During adolescence, an individual’s thought, perception as well as response gets colored sexually. Puberty is an important landmark of sexuality development that occurs in the adolescence. The myriad of changes that occurs in adolescents puts them under enormous stress, which may have adverse physical, as well as psychological consequences. Understanding adolescent sexuality has important clinical, legal, social, cultural, as well as educational implications. The researcher randomly select 300 youth in the study area

CHAPTER ONE

                                                INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

Growth and development are continuous processes, which bring a change in an individual, every moment. Development of sexuality starts as early as in intrauterine life following conception and continues through infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood till death (DeLamater J, Friedrich WN. 2012). During infancy, there is no awareness of gender. The child acknowledges its gender in early childhood as early as by 3 years. Self‑awareness about sexuality (gender role, gender identity) evolves during the childhood. Biological research evidences are suggestive of the definite role of androgens in deciding the gender sensitive roles and gender‑specific behaviors (Brown RT 2012). Adolescence is a phase of transition during which major developments of sexuality takes place. Puberty is reached during adolescence, which is a major landmark in the development of sexuality. The hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis function is highly essential for the sexual development during puberty. Adolescence can be broadly divided into three stages: Early (10–13 years), middle (14–16 years), and late (17–19 years). Physical changes start in early adolescence, where they are very concerned about their body image. During adolescence cognitive development takes place; adolescents develop abstract thinking and reasoning. Emotionally, they develop a sense of identity during late adolescence; social involvement, peer interaction, as well as sexual interest, develop in this phase. You may be thinking about what it means to be involved in a sexual relationship. As a young adult, it’s normal to think about sex, have sexual feelings, and have a desire to learn more about your own body. Deciding to have a sexual relationship is an important decision since it involves both your body and your emotions. You need to make sure that it’s the right decision for you. It’s always good to have a trusted adult to talk to.  Different behavioral experimentation is seen in early adolescence, risk taking in middle adolescence, and later adolescents learns to assess their own risk taking (Hindin MJ, Fatusi AO 2013). As per the 2014 data, published by U.S Census Bureau, adolescents (10–19 years of age) count approximately 1.2 billion across the globe. Nearly, 70% of total adolescent (10–19 years of age) population of the world resides in developing countries. Developing countries in recent decades are going through a rapid change due to – urbanization, migration, education, and mixing of cultures, which are having a definite impact on the attitude toward sexuality in adolescents. In developing countries like India, the adolescents are also subjected to early marriage, which results in teenage pregnancy and adolescent fatherhood. In most cases, females in comparison to males are subjected to early marriage. Early exposure to sexual relationship also increases the risk of sexually transmitted diseases.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

A number of elements contribute to the decision-making process. Every decision entails taking a risk, pursuit, or action that involves an uncertain outcome. There are three major categories of developmental factors that influence decision making: cognitive development, emotional development, and, finally, social development. While school-based sex education remains an important tool to help improve adolescent health outcomes, new efforts are needed to improve its overall impacts. A primary reason that school-based sex education falls short stems from the fact that the current theoretical foundation of many curricula asserts that sexual decision making is primarily a rational, deliberative process. Far from being only a rational process, a number of affective (emotional and motivational) factors also influence adolescent sexual decision-making. The cognitive, hormonal, emotional, and physical changes that accompany the onset of puberty and occur throughout the teenage years play a significant role in aspects of adolescent sexual risk taking. Thus, one approach to advancing current understanding of these complex issues is to leverage emerging knowledge in developmental affective neuroscience over the past 15 years, which suggests some potentially promising innovations that may inform new educational directions to improve adolescent sexual health. Growth and development are continuous processes, which bring a change in an individual, every moment. Development of sexuality starts as early as in intrauterine life following conception and continues through infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood till death.

• OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The study has one main objective which is sub-divided into general and specific objective. The general objective is to examine the important reason why sexual decision making is necessary. The specific objectives are;

1. To examine the importance of sexual decision on the health of the youth
2. To examine the impact of sexual decision on the mental and emotional welling of the adolescent

• To ascertain if there is any significant relationship between sexual decision and psychological wellbeing of adolescent

1. To proffer suggested solution to the identified problem
   • RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions were formulated by the researcher to aid the completion of the study;

1. Is there any effect of important sexual decision on the health of the youth?
2. Does sexual decision have any impact on the mental and emotional welling of the adolescent?

• Is there any significant relationship between sexual decision and psychological wellbeing of adolescent?
  • RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher to aid the completion of the study;

H₀: There is no significant relationship between sexual decision and psychological wellbeing of adolescent

H₁: There is a significant relationship between sexual decision and psychological wellbeing of adolescent

H₀: sexual decision does not have any impact on the mental and emotional welling of the adolescent

H₂: sexual decision does have an impact on the mental and emotional welling of the adolescent

• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is believed that at the completion of the study the findings will be of great importance adolescent and young adult as the findings of the study will guide them on the importance of proper and adequate sexual decision, the study will also be of importance to researcher who intend to embark on a study in a similar topic as the findings of this study will serve as a reference point to further studies. The study will also be of importance to researchers, students, teachers, academia’s and the general public as the findings of the study will contribute to the pool of existing literature on the subject matter and also contribute to knowledge.

• SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers the important reason why sexual decision making are necessary. But in the course of the study, there are some factors that limit the scope of the study;

1. a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
2. b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
3. c) Organizational privacy: Limited Access to the selected auditing firm makes it difficult to get all the necessary and required information concerning the activities.

1.8 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Sexual decision

The decision to engage in sexual activity with others is very personal and is usually influenced by many social factors such as personal values, cultural beliefs, and self-esteem.

Sex

Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male gametes or female ones.

Decision making

In psychology, decision-making is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options

1.9 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study

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