Sexual Abuse among Female Undergraduates in Tertiary Institutions in IMO State, Southeast Nigeria: Prevalence, Pattern and Determinants

Document pages: 25 pages

Abstract: Introduction: sexual abuse is a global public health problem. It spans social strata, cultures, tribes, etc. as long as human beings have reason to interact, it has penetrated into the structures of colleges and universities and many workplaces. Objective: to determine the prevalence, patterns and determinants of sexual abuse among college students in IMO state, Nigeria. Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey of 600 female college students in IMO state, Nigeria. The subjects were selected by multi-stage sampling technique, the data were collected by pre-test, semi-structured and self-administered questionnaires, and analyzed by computer software (Epi Info version 3.3.2). Descriptive statistics used summary index, frequency and analysis of variancecy tables and percentages. Associations between variables were done using the chi-square and logistic regression. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 21.7 3.2 years. The current and life-time prevalence of sexual abuse among the respondents was 15.2 and 34 respectively and the commonest form of sexual abuse experienced was founding grabbing of sensitive body parts (52.5 ). Factors found to influence current occurrence of sexual abuse among the students were; age (p = 0.010), tribe (p = 0.008), marital status (p