Relationship between Health Locus of Control and Risky Sexual Behaviors among Nigerian Adolescents

Abstract

HIV/AIDS knowledge has been rated as the most important factor for HIV prevention. However, studies have also shown that knowledge alone does not always translate into reduced risky sexual behavior (RSB). Health locus of control (HLC) categorized as perceived control over health status (internal locus of control) or attribution of health status to chance or fate (external health locus of control) is a psychological construct that has been shown to impact health outcomes including RSB. This study thus investigated the relationship between HLC and RSB among Nigerian adolescents.A cross-sectional survey design was employed among 361 adolescents from nine senior secondary schools selected through stratified random sampling from Jos, Plateau State Nigeria. Data were collected between August and October of 2008. Health Locus of Control Scale was used to categorize individuals into having either an internal or external HLC. RSB was assessed using the Brief HIV Screener (BHS). Descriptive statistics were computed and Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine differences in BHS scores by HLC categories. Odds ratios and adjusted odds ratios were calculated for individual BHS question responses based on HLC.Participants were 169 males (46.8%) and 192 females (53.2%) with a mean age of 16.9. When grouped into HLC categories, 141 were internal and 220 were external. The mean score on the BHS showed statistically significant difference based on HLC (p=0.01). Odds for using a condom during sexual intercourse were higher for adolescents with an internal HLC while adolescents with an external HLC had significantly higher RSB scores. Prevention programs targeted at adolescents should also aim to internalize their HLC.

Understanding and predicting profiles of compulsive sexual behavior among adolescents

“…We found that adolescents with high levels of CSB symptoms (classified as the CSB group), in comparison to sexual fantasizers and abstaining adolescents, are characterized by an external locus of control, anxious attachment, greater loneliness, higher frequency of PU, and more sex-related online activities. While some of our findings are in keeping with previous studies such as the links between CSB, loneliness (Dhuffar et al., 2015), and external locus of control (Pharr et al., 2015), the current research also yielded several unique and novel results.…”

“…This perception distinguishes them from sexual fantasizers, who do not worry about the consequences of their sexual thoughts, and from abstaining adolescents who can control their sexual thoughts, and do not suffer from high negative affect. Research has indeed linked external locus of control to risky sexual behavior (Pharr et al., 2015; St. Lawrence, 1993), such as lower likelihood of wearing a condom.…”

“…Sex-related behavior might also be connected to the amount of control one perceives to have over his or her life (the so-called “locus of control;” Rotter, 1966) and to the person’s sense of loneliness. Previous studies have indicated that external locus of control is linked to risky sexual behavior among the adolescents (Pharr et al., 2015), and that loneliness relates to higher levels of CSB among adults (Bőthe, Tóth-Király, et al., 2018; Dhuffar, Pontes, & Griffiths, 2015; Yoder, Virden, & Amin, 2005). For example, Yoder et al.…”

Safe sex self-efficacy and safe sex practice in a Southern United States College

“…There was no statistically significant association between the closely-related assertiveness self-efficacy scale and safe-sex practice in this study; however, poor assertiveness and low perceived personal control are thought to be predictors of risky sexual behavior. 20-22 Hence, college students also need to build their self-assertiveness skills during this critical period of psychosocial development and our findings further emphasize the importance of good partner disapproval-related self-efficacy in relation to safe sexual behavior.…”

Perceived HIV risk as a predictor of sexual risk behaviors and discrimination among high-risk women

“…The extent to which HIV risk perception modifies engagement in HIV risk behaviors continues to be unclear and inconsistent (Prata, Morris, Mazive et al, 2006). HIV risk perception may not ultimately lead to reductions in high-risk behaviors, as socioeconomic, sociocultural and structural constraints represent an external locus of control that high-risk populations face, but cannot necessarily overcome (Pharr, Enejoh, Mavegam et al, 2015).…”