Factors associated with the premarital sex among adolescents and the need for introduction of functional sex-education in secondary schools in Ebonyi state, Nigeria

Abstract The rate of premarital sexual activities among adolescent students of secondary schools especially in developing nations like Nigeria is alarming and has continued to generate public attention. Many students have dropped out of school, while others have either become teenage parents or lost their lives owing to early and unintended pregnancy and complications arising from unsafe abortion. This study aims at examining the factors associated with premarital sexual activities among adolescent students in Ebonyi state. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study using unstructured in-depth interviews to collect data from 24 purposively selected respondents and analyzed thematically. Findings show that poverty, peer group influence, pornography, and desire for pleasure were some of the causes of premarital sex among students; while unintended pregnancy, abortion, poor academic performance, school dropout, and early marriage were identified as some of its consequences. The study recommended mass sensitization campaigns and the introduction of sex education as a remedy to the ugly practice. Social workers should be involved in enlightenment campaigns on the dangers associated with the lack of sex education, and premarital sex activities by the students.


Introduction
Adolescence is a crucial and transitional stage in life, from childhood to adulthood that is characterized by curiosity and adventures (Aleke et al., 2021); and often associated with heightened risk-taking, including premarital sex (Liang et al., 2019). Premarital sexual activity is a common sexual experimentation among adolescents (Wong & O'Connor, 2012;Yip et al., 2013), which usually involves behaviours such as multiple sexual partners (Kazaura & Masatu, 2009;Teferra et al., 2015), inconsistent or non-condom use (United Nations Agency for International Development [UNAIDS, 2015), and consumption of pornography (Akililu et al., 2015;Chihurumnanya et al., 2016). The rate of teenage pregnancy and the high level of indulgence in premarital sex among school children in this 21st century have become subjects of discourse (Ogbueghu, 2017). These children have been observed engaging in sexual activities without proper education, and as such, they are exposed and induced to unfamiliar risks and Sexually Transmitted Diseases [STDs] such as gonorrhea, syphilis, candidiasis, chlamydia, and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome [AIDS] and so on (Ezeugwu & Ede, 2016).
The recent Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey ([NDHS], 2019) report shows that 7.9% of boys and 9.6% of girls aged 15-19 years had sexual intercourse with persons who were neither their husbands nor lived with them. The Federal Ministry of Health ([FMoH], 2013) survey on the sexual behaviours of Nigerians revealed that almost half of the females (46.2%) and about a quarter of males (22.1%) between the ages of 15 and 19 years have engaged in sexual intercourse. In traditional Nigerian society, for instance, strict moral principles, culture, religious and social influences were regarded as restrictions to socially and culturally unacceptable sexual behaviours (Eze, 2014). These restrictions and consequences created a culture of silence and prevented open discussion of sexuality between adolescents and well-informed adults (Ajayi et al., 2019;Mbachu et al., 2020). However, the increasing exposure to the internet and social media, and the consequential adoption of foreign ways of life by young people, have paved the way for more tolerance for sexual lifestyles that were previously regarded as offensive or socially unacceptable (Ajaegbu, 2015;Olumide & Ojengbede, 2016).
Social media platforms also offer a unique environment for secondary school adolescents to engage in a courtship style that is driven by premarital sexual intercourse (Omotere, 2013). It helps the students to interact and decide on where and when to meet for sexual purposes. Other motives that encourage premarital sex among adolescents include the desire by males for sexual gratification, the desire by females to develop romantic relationships that will lead to marriage, urbanism, negative peer influence, mass media, and poor socioeconomic status (Eze, 2014;Stoebenau et al., 2016). The aforementioned reason, coupled with poor sexuality training, expose students to premarital sex and risks like early pregnancy, school dropout, self-guilt, poverty, inferiority complex, STDs, and death. It also leads to teenage fatherhood/motherhood and the burden of providing for the unplanned child, unsafe abortion, lifelong unhappiness, inability of the students to concentrate, poor school performance, deterioration of mental health of students, increased illiteracy, overpopulation, obstructed labour and death (Adedigba, 2017;Anene et al., 2017;Igba et al., 2018).
These adolescent secondary school students, at this period of their life, are not yet knowledgeable about sex and its complications; as there is limited information to them from the school curriculum, school teachers, parents, or even church leaders-thus, the only available information on sex for them is from their peers who are not well informed (Anene et al., 2017). Though the Nigerian government has in the past introduced sex education policy in secondary schools across the country, socio-cultural and religious factors have continued to affect its effects in schools. To make matters worse, there is no functional sex education subject in secondary school curriculum where the causes and consequences of premarital sex could be taught to the students. Therefore, sex education could serve as an intervention for premarital sex among students and its negative consequences; and provide them with information about taking care of their sexual health (Ezumah et al., 2021). This is because, sexual drive and anxiety are acknowledged to be high during adolescence (Iwara & Alonge, 2014); and these desires ought to be controlled by the school counsellors and school social workers to enable adolescents avoid unnecessary sex. This is because social workers are found in schools where they play many roles to reduce challenges faced by students including sex education. Social workers can do a lot to aid in the reduction of the occurrence of premarital sex by students. According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the social work profession is a specialized area of practice where professionals are wellequipped to address any social or psychological issues that may tend to block a student's academic progress (NASW, 2012). In schools, social workers are highly trained professionals who are skilled in dealing with complex problems such as child sexual abuse. They are professionals with backgrounds in prevention, intervention, and advocacy (Onalu, Agwu, Gobo, et al., 2021;Ruffin, 2017); and are qualified and best suited within the school system to provide the appropriate support needed by students who have been involved in situations of premarital sex and exploitation (Allen-Meares & Montgomery, 2014). They can organize workshops and public lectures for students on sex education and the dangers associated with premarital sex by adolescents.
Several studies have explored the practice of premarital sexual activities among adolescents (Abdullahi & Abdulquadri, 2018;Agbodo, 2017;Arulogun et al., 2016;Khan and Raby (2020); Musa (2020): Osadolor et al. (2022); Oyediran (2020); Shiffman et al. (2018);& Williams (2016). However, only few of these studies, to the best of our knowledge have focused on the predictors of premarital sexual activities among adolescent students in Ebonyi state, Nigeria. Most of the studies focused on the implications of premarital sex and did not include the expected roles of social workers. There is a gap of including the roles of social work in an effort to introduce a functional sex education programme that will aid in the reduction of premarital sexual activities by adolescent students. This is because adolescents in South East Nigeria especially secondary school students in Ebonyi State are naïve to the consequences of premarital sex because of misconceptions about sexuality (Aleke et al., 2021). This study, therefore, aims at examining the predictors and implications of premarital sex among adolescent students in Ebonyi state. This is necessary considering the high rate of premarital sexual activities and its negative consequences in our secondary schools orchestrated by a lack of proper and functional sex education. Therefore, the study has the following research questions (1) What are the predictors of premarital sex among adolescent students in Ebonyi state? (2) What are the implications of premarital sex among adolescent students in Ebonyi state? (3) How can the reintroduction of functional sex education programme help in reducing premarital sex among students? (4) What roles can social workers play in the introduction of the policy?

Study area
This qualitative and descriptive study was carried out in Ebonyi state, Nigeria. The state is one of the 36 states in Nigeria and is located in the southeast geopolitical zone of the country with a population of 3, 046, 287 (National Population Commission [NPC], 2022). This study includes all adolescent students between the ages of 10 to 19. The rationale behind the choice of this study in Ebonyi state is because of a high level of premarital sexual activities at an early age which predisposes them to the risk of school dropout, unintended pregnancy, abortion, and STIs (Aleke et al., 2021).

Sampling procedure
A multistage sampling technique was used to determine the sample size of this study. First, simple random sampling was used to select Ezza-North Local Government Area (LGA) from the Ebonyi central senatorial zone, which is one of the three senatorial zones in Ebonyi State (Ishielu, Ezza-North, Ezza-South, and Ikwo). There are about 12 secondary schools in Ezza-North LGA. Further, simple random sampling was used in selecting four secondary schools out of the 12 secondary schools that made up the LGA. The selected schools are Community Secondary School Umuezeokoha, St. Aidan's Secondary School Umuezeoka, Community Secondary School Nkomoro, and Community Secondary School Ekka. The rationale for the choice of a simple random sampling technique was to ensure that all the secondary schools in the LGA as well as all parts of the state had equal chances of being represented.
Second, the purposive sampling method was adopted in the selection of individual participants. With the help of the headship of the various selected schools, 24 participants (4 students, and 2 teachers) were purposively selected for the study. The leaders of the schools provided us with the names of students and teachers believed to suit our investigation. Furthermore, given the objective of this study, we only recruited SS II and SS III students for the study. Schools 1 to 4 were used to represent the selected schools to ensure the confidentiality of respondents.

Data collection
An in-depth Interview was used for the data collection. The In-depth interview schedules were unstructured to allow for free and unhindered information from the participants. However, the interview schedules were pretested and reviewed to ensure reliability and objectivity. Participants were provided with consent forms where clear explanations regarding the study and participation were made. For the respondents who were below 18 years, we sought the consent of their parents. They were assured of voluntary participation and confidentiality of their information. The language used for the interviews was the English language. With the permission of the participants, their responses were taken by a note-taker and their voices were recorded with our phones. The interviews were conducted in the classrooms for the students and in offices and staff rooms for the teachers. The study took place between January and June 2022 with each interview lasting between 45 to 50 minutes.

Data analysis
The data generated were developed into themes and were compared with the notes taken to ensure that no response was omitted. The researchers independently read and reread the transcripts to familiarize themselves with the data. The interviews were imported into NVivo 9 software. Using thematic analysis, it was read while being coded, and emerging themes were reviewed by the researchers for uniformity and frequency. In forming a thematic analysis, major themes include factors influencing the practice of premarital sex, negative consequences of the act on students, and the role of social workers and health educators. These themes emerged from the analysis but were guided by the research questions.

Demographic characteristics of participants
The respondents were made up of 16 students, four deans of studies, and four principals. Out of the 24 participants, 15 were males, while 9 were females. Sixteen of the participants had primary education, while 8 completed tertiary education. Their age ranged from 14 to 17 for students, and 31 to 50 for school teachers. All the participants are Christians.

Knowledge of premarital sex among adolescents
Responses from participants indicated they are knowledgeable of premarital sexual activities among adolescents. They stated that premarital sex is the act of having sex before marriage mostly by adolescents who know little or nothing about sex or the negative consequences that accompany the act. They choose to indulge in it for pleasure, material things, grades, peer group influence, and ignorance. This practice most times comes with negative consequences on the students who are not yet prepared for family roles as premarital sex can lead to teenage pregnancy. According to a participant, "Premarital sex is sexual activity practiced by people before marriage" (Female student, 14, school 1). Another participant said, "It is the act of indulging in sexual activities by unmarried people mostly adolescents of school-age, which can lead to teenage pregnancy, school dropout, abortion, or death" (Male teacher, 45, school 4).

Erotic relationships among students
The prevalence of premarital sexual activity among adolescent students has been attributed to some factors, and an unhealthy relationship between the opposite sex was identified as one. Data revealed that erotic relationships among students eventually lead to unwarranted sexual intercourse. This erotic relationship among the teen students always leads them into kissing, hugging, caressing, clubbing, and subsequently, into sexual practice. Most students get involved in this type of relationship because they want to "belong" as they may be mocked by their randy friends (big boys/girls) if they found that they do not have friends of the opposite sex, or that they are still virgins. A participant quipped: A romantic relationship between students is leading so many adolescent students into a sexual acts. Once they start having too much attachment with each other in the name of friendship or schoolmates, especially with the opposite sex, the next thing on their mind is how to take sexual advantage of themselves at a tender age (Male teacher, 50, school 2).
Another said: I know of a student in our school (SS2 student) who always go to a particular place in a bush to have sex with an SS1 student of the same school. They continued having random sex until the school authority apprehended them following a tip-off. They were subsequently suspended and were asked to bring their parents to school before they could be allowed to remain in the school as students (Male student, school 3).

Peer group and negative influence
Participants identified peer groups and the negative influence of friends, colleagues, and environment as responsible for the occurrence of premarital sex among adolescents in secondary schools. When students are negatively influenced by the behaviours of other students and friends with questionable character, they tend to behave in antisocial ways including having premarital sex. Thus, "bad company corrupts good manners". Data equally found that a well-trained student can be easily influenced by the kind of friends or peers he/she keeps both within and outside the school. Negative influence appeared repeatedly from participants as one of the major predictors of premarital sex among adolescent students. A 14-year-old student said: I know of a student with good character who was influenced by another female student. She told her friend to accompany her to her boyfriend's house, and from there, the student with good behaviour started having an interest in an opposite and erotic relationship. This led to premarital sex between them. Unfortunately to her, she got pregnant within 6 months and this development forced her out of school (Female student, 14, school 4).

Poverty, materialism, and poor parental upbringing
One's socioeconomic background sometimes determines their lifestyle. Poverty is a situation where one lacks the ability and resources to carry out the responsibilities expected of him or her. Many students are from poor homes and their parents cannot meet up with their educational demands. Participants revealed that the inability of some parents to meet up with the educational requirements of their children coupled with students' greed or lust for money always predisposes them to have premarital sex with other students from wealthy families, teachers, and other men and women outside the school to enable them to meet up with their financial obligations. Data found that most students with good character were forced into premarital sex by lack of, or quest for funds to either meet their school requirements or to look good like some students. A participant reported: The lack of fund and quest for it pushes students into premarital sex. They try to use what they have to get what they want but do not have. They engage in sexual activity to raise money for their school requirements and other wants without recourse to the grave consequences of such acts (Female teacher, 48, school 3).

Another participant said:
It is the responsibility of our parents to teach us moral values including why we should avoid sex at this age, but most students lack proper parental upbringing and societal values. This lack of knowledge of morality and poor upbringing predisposes the students to premarital sex (Female student, 16, school 2).

Pornography, pleasure, indecent dressing, and exposure
Pornographic videos can actually predispose adolescents to premarital sex. Most students now have smart and android phones with thousands of porn sites where they watch pornographic (blue) films. These students are addicted to watching pornographic pictures and videos on their phones, books, magazines, newspapers, and television at the expense of their books. Data found that these videos raise their sexual urge thus compelling them into practicing what they watch. Participants equally stated that some students indulge in premarital sex just to satisfy their sexual urges or for pleasure. These students do not engage in sex for money or under threat but willingly commit such acts because of the quest for sexual satisfaction. They lack self-control and believe that everybody is doing it, and therefore they should also try it out. Additionally, provocative dressing and exposure especially among female students usually arouse emotional or sexual feelings in male students or teachers. Data found that some students hardly dress decently both within and outside the school premises. Some of them dress so indecently and seductively exposing their hips, thighs, and breast just to attract and lure innocent but vulnerable male students into an unhealthy relationship that eventually leads to adolescent sex. Reacting to the above, a participant said: The watching of pornographic videos via the internet, television, and social media platforms contributes in no small measure to the practice of premarital sex by adolescent students. Most of the students now have smartphones where they watch many erotic movies and videos (Male teacher, 45, school 1).
With regards to sex for pleasure, a 15-year-old student said: . . . . . . . In my view, some students engage in premarital sex because they want to satisfy their sexual urges. Most of the students who have been caught in the school for the act have rich family backgrounds. I can say they lack self-control and are only interested in satisfying their sexual libido (Male student, 15, school 3).
Speaking on indecent dressing and exposure, a participant said, "Honestly, the way some students dress to school, exposing their private bodies leads to sexual advancement or harassment from the opposite sex. This leads to premarital sex. But we have a policy here in the school to checkmate such" (Female teacher, 35, school 3).
In summary, most of what our students practice today including premarital sex is learned from the internet, social and mass media. The way the students dress and behave encourages sexual stimulation.

Cultism and use of force
Cult groups commit many abhor able acts including having forceful sexual intercourse with the opposite sex who may not want to indulge in such acts but have to play along for their safety. In other words, he or she is forced into premarital sex to avoid being hurt or killed by the gang. Data revealed that this practice of forceful intercourse, which is a regular occurrence in our secondary schools is tantamount to rape. Some participants argued that some students joined cult groups today just to intimidate, threaten and have sex with the opposite sex who earlier on refused to yield to their demands of premarital sex. According to a female student, "being a member of a dreaded cult group gives them, especially male students the leverage to threaten their female counterparts into having sex with them" (Female student, 17, school 2).

Ignorance and lack of sex education
The inability of the students to know beforehand the implications of premarital sex as a result of a lack of functional sex education has in no small measure contributed to the menace of premarital sex among our adolescent students. Participants noted that most students engage in premarital sex because they do not know the disastrous effects of such acts as neither the school nor homes make bold to teach them about sex education. Most secondary schools do not have school counsellors. Even when they do, they shy away from discussing the topic of sex as most societies including Nigeria see it as taboo to discuss sex with adolescents. Religious bodies are not helping too, as they see it as a sin to talk about sex in the presence of a teenager. A participant said: When parents and school authorities fail to carry out their obligation of imbibing good moral conduct and element of sex education in adolescents, there is every likelihood that these adolescents will learn negatively from their peers and social media; and practice what they learned about sex with its far-reaching negative outcomes (Male teacher, 47, school 1).

A student said:
The inability of both the family and school to teach us societal values and what we should expect (body changes) as we approach puberty contributes to premarital sexual promiscuity among our colleagues who are mostly adolescents. Our parents and school feel we are too young for sex topics not knowing that their silence on such an important topic is making us learn about it the wrong way (Female student, 17, school 3).

Randy's teachers' influence
Teachers with bad manners sometimes talk students into having sex with them with the promise that the students will pass all their subjects. Participants revealed that while some teachers persuade or deceive their students into submission, others threaten the students into sleeping with them. This sexual act by their teachers who are more sexually experienced than them corrupts the students and plunges them into sex addicts, making some of them happy that they are even dating their teachers. Data found that these randy teachers often use their adolescent students as sex toys as their primary aim is to satisfy their sexual libido with the students. Since these students are already addicted sexually, they always look for sex elsewhere probably from their fellow students whenever they have a sexual urge and their teacher partners are not available, thereby spreading the act of premarital sex among other students. According to one of the students, "Most of our teachers are the ones luring us into having sex with them. While some of them persuade or deceive students into having sex with them, others threaten us into having sex with them" (Female student, 16, school 4).

Poor academic performance and school dropout
Data revealed that students who always engage in premarital sex find it difficult to concentrate on their studies. This invariably leads to the poor academic performance of the students. The study found that most of these premarital sex students are not always regular in school as they leave their homes most often for their sexual partners' houses in the pretense of going to school. Participants stated that one of the effects of premarital sex on the educational development of the students is a school dropout. A female teacher said: Students who find pleasure in premarital sex hardly pay attention in class. They are always busy thinking about the next student or person to have sex with to satisfy their sexual urge. They always play truant to school because sex is already part of them and has preoccupied their mindset. Even when they attend classes, their minds are not always with them in the class, but rather on their previous or next sex experience. In the end, their performances will be poor academically because they have chosen pleasure over their studies (Female teacher, 44, school 3).

Guilt, psychological and emotional implications
Premarital sex has been found to affect negatively the psychological and emotional well-being of students. Participants noted that in the case of getting pregnant or infected with STDs as a result of premarital sex, the students may begin to feel inferior, loss of respect, and ashamed before their peers, parents, and teachers. They resort to living an isolated life because of a feeling of disappointment, which affects their psychological and emotional functioning. This loss of respect from peers, family, and friends leads to anxiety, a feeling of guilt, depression, hopelessness, and death. In reacting to the above subject, a male teacher said: The students sometimes feel guilty after engaging in the act, especially when it results in unpleasant consequences like pregnancy and STDs, or even perform poorly in the examination. The feeling is that they have disappointed their parents and guardians, and continue to isolate themselves from their groups. This behaviour and feeling affect their emotional state (Male teacher, 50, school 2).

Health implications
Premarital sex has been identified as one of the leading causes of teenage pregnancy and STDs among adolescent students. These diseases, if not detected early and treated can lead to the untimely death of the concerned students. Participants also stated that most of these adolescents who engage in premarital sex take some sex-enhancing drugs like tramadol, viagra, honey hill, Adam's and Eve's desires just to have prolonged or romp sex or to prove a point to their partners that they can satisfy them sexually. These drugs no doubt have negative health implications on the lives of students. Data equally revealed that premarital sex leads to unintended pregnancy among adolescent students. This early and unplanned pregnancy according to the participants in most cases leads to reproductive health problems and even death because of the tenderness of the girl carrying the pregnancy. They are bound to patronize unqualified medical practitioners who may administer the wrong doses of drugs to them in an attempt to cure them of STIs or to terminate the pregnancy. Hear this participant: When students indulge in unprotected sex escapades without proper knowledge of sex education, they tend to contract diseases and get pregnant while still in school. They may approach quack medical dealers for treatment or abortion, which may either worsen their health conditions or damage their body system including reproductive organs, or lead to their untimely death in the case of failed abortion (Male teacher, 46, school 1).
The truth is that some of our students, especially the girls have dropped out of school and become teenage mothers because of unplanned pregnancies resulting from unprotected premarital sex. Some others who engaged in the act contracted one form of STDs or the other, which affected their health life as they were hiding it from the public (Female student, 17, school 3).

Socioeconomic implications
Most participants opined that some students especially the males spend unnecessarily to impress their girlfriends to keep having sex with them. Most of these boys go as far as borrowing, stealing from their parents and others, spending their school fees and other levies, and joining cult groups just to raise money to take care of their girlfriends or to keep to the promise made to the girls. A male student had this to say: Students who spend their fees or pocket money on their lover or borrow to satisfy their lover of the opposite sex always go broke. As a result, such students engage in anything at all to raise money and can even sell off some of their personal belongings to take care of their sex partners (Male student, 15, school 1) The social life of students is also said to be negatively affected by premarital sex, especially when there are unpleasant outcomes from such acts. Students who are known as sex addicts are always seen as objects of mockery and avoided by friends and fellow students. Participants revealed that in most cases, these students that indulge in premarital sex are referred to as way-wards by the public. Reacting to the above, a participant stated: Premarital sexual behaviour is always seen as an immoral act and frowned upon in society. When an adolescent student gets pregnant as a result of premarital sex, society looks down on such a person. She loses the respect of most people including her friends who may not want to be corrupted. As a result, she will start avoiding most social activities for a feeling of shame and confine herself to loneliness (Female teacher, 39, school 2).

Physical implications
Participants revealed that students who are pregnant for the first time may become too heavy and lazy to do anything for themselves. They may experience severe pains in their lower abdomen and nipples and constantly vomit. In addition to physical pains, they may find it difficult to appear before any public gathering because of their induced rapid physical growth. They may also experience chronic headaches, stomach aches, fatigue, dizziness, swollen legs, protruded stomach, and prolonged labour. Listen to this participant: Pregnancy always makes a woman larger in size. I remember my classmate who got pregnant when we were in SSI. She grew too big and was too heavy that she was unable to do anything. She was even finding it difficult to feed herself (Male student, 17, school 4).
Another said: Those who contracted STDs and HIV/AIDS as a result of unprotected sex while in school and could not treat it properly find it difficult to mix freely with the public because of the symptoms. For instance, those with certain infections find it difficult to urinate, while others urinate constantly, disrupting their activities (Male teacher, 46, school 1).

Early/unintended pregnancy, abortion, and teenage marriage
The involvement of adolescent students in unprotected premarital sex without recourse to precautionary measures has no doubt landed many students into early marriage. Participants noted that many students are now teenage parents because they ignorantly engaged in unprotected sex which resulted in early pregnancy and failed abortion. As circumstances forced these students especially girls into dropping out of school, they now become teenage mothers without any knowledge of motherhood. This is a problem as most of these pregnant girls give birth to their babies and try to raise them alone as the boys responsible for the pregnancy in most cases, flee. This type of upbringing (single parenting) will continue to create social misfits in society. According to a participant, "some students were forced out of school because of pregnancy, while some lost their lives to abortion" (Female student, 16, school 3).

Needs for the introduction of sex education
Data found that functional sex education will help adolescent students in making informed decisions about their sexual relationships. Most participants opined that sex education if reintroduced will help students know more about sex, regulate their sexual behaviour, minimize the rate of premarital sex, reduce teenage pregnancy, abortion, sexual abuse, and help them make the right choices and decisions concerning their future. The below quotes better capture their views: Sex education should be reintroduced in our secondary schools to help us know about sex. Neither our teachers nor our parents teach us how to live a healthy sexual life, as they see it as taboo to discuss a sexual topic with adolescents. Some parents, teachers, and religious leaders also believe that discussing sex with the underage exposes them to premarital sex, without knowing that they are worsening the situation by making us ignorant of the issue at hand (Male student, 16, school 2).
Functional sex education should be introduced into the school curriculum to help in imparting knowledge about premarital sex, its causes, and consequences on adolescent students of secondary schools in Ebonyi state. It will also help to reduce the rate of premarital sex among students (Male teacher, 45, school 4).
Most of us indulge in premarital sex because of ignorance or misinformation. I believe that if sex education is introduced and taught in our schools, most of the adolescents will come to know better and desist from premarital sex (Male student, 17, school 2).
Sex education should be reintroduced to educate the people on dangers associated with premarital and unprotected sex such as unplanned pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, STDs, poor academic achievement, expulsion from school, early marriage, health complications, and death (Female teacher, 44, school 1).
Reintroducing sex education will be a dream come through because it will teach our students all they need to know about sex and to desist from watching pornographic videos, especially now that the world has gone digital. It will teach the students to resist the urge and temptation of premarital sex as teenagers to finish their education and safeguard their future (Male teacher, 35, school 3).

Discussion
This qualitative study explored the factors associated with premarital sexual activities among adolescent students in Ebonyi state and the need for the inclusion of sex education in the school curriculum to enlighten the students on sexual life. Findings from our investigation revealed that apart from the fact that participants demonstrated having good knowledge of the concept of premarital sex, they also acknowledged the practice of premarital sex in secondary schools by adolescent students. Consequently, most of the students have had their dreams shattered, denied, and diverted as a result of unprotected premarital sex .
The analysis of the study found lack of knowledge of sex education and peer group pressure and the negative influence of friends among others are responsible for premarital sex in the study area. This finding is in tandem with the results of Okafor-Udah (2006) and Soucy (2014) which found that lack of relevant education for the youth, peer group influence, drug abuse among the youth especially the abuse of alcohol, pornographic films, and literature, parents neglect of their duties as models to their children, influence from television and videos, are responsible for premarital sexual activities among adolescent students. According to Musa (2020), it is important to impart knowledge about sex and sexuality to adolescents.
The findings of the study equally revealed that poverty, poor parental upbringing, mass media, and urbanization contribute to premarital sex among students. This agrees with the study of Eze (2014), Oyediran (2020), Stoebenau et al. (2016), which reported that poor upbringing, moral decadence of the parents without inculcating the ethical value in the children, urbanization, mass media, family type, and poor socioeconomic status will influence them negatively. Further investigations found that cultism, illicit drug, and alcohol intake are also responsible for the occurrence of premarital sex among adolescent students. It was reported that some students join cult groups just to intimidate other students into sex. The study of Dabhoiwala (2012), which found that the evil company of some students who are into cultism, pornography film, smokers, drunkards, and sexual activities propel and initiate the adolescent into premarital sex also supports the findings of our study.
Another finding from the study is that students who engage in premarital sex more often always find it difficult to concentrate on their studies, which leads to poor academic performance; they hardly pay attention to the teachings in the class as they think most of what their next round of sex would be. Further investigations revealed that students who engage in unprotected premarital sex are always victims of school dropout, early pregnancy, STDs, becoming a teenage mother/ father, committing abortion, having health complications that may lead to death, and having a sense of guilt. This finding is consistent with the outcomes in the studies of Omobumeh and Adesua (2020) and Samphina Academy (2022), which revealed that poor academic performance, depression, loss of self-respect, unwanted pregnancy, rejection, HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, school dropout, teenage pregnancy, unsafe abortion, single parenting, early marriage, increase in the rate of contraceptive drugs and abandoning of one's responsibility, are some of the consequences of premarital sex by adolescent students. When a female student gets pregnant as a result of unprotected premarital sex, she may be forced to drop out of school, thus, cutting short her dreams of being educated. The boys too may be forced out of school for being responsible for pregnancy by circumstances.
Similarly, adolescents and young adults in particular have been found to be the group at the highest risk for negative health consequences related to sexual risk-taking behaviour, including STIDs, and the occurrence of unintended pregnancies (Aselon, 2020); with most of these negative health consequences emanating from improper or inadequate sexuality and sex information to the adventurous adolescents (Daagu et al., 2021). Students who engage in teenage relationships and sex also suffer economic hardship especially when pregnant or expelled from school. When expelled or pregnant, such students are thrown into economic hardship as their parents or guardians who hitherto sponsored their socioeconomic and educational needs may look the other way in disappointment and anger, thus leaving them to suffer economically.
Findings from the study suggested the inclusion of implementable sex education in the secondary school curriculum to sensitize the students, most of whom are gullible on what they need to know about sex, and why they should delay sex especially unprotected ones until maturity. Sexual education is that aspect of health education that enables the students to be cognizant of the biological, psychological, social, and moral development for maturity as a man or a woman (Decrek, 2012). According to Derbie et al. (2018), information regarding sex and sexuality is no longer a preserve of a chosen few. Therefore, adolescent students need information not only about physiology and a better understanding of the norms that society has set for sexual behaviour, but they also need to acquire the skills necessary to develop healthy relationships and engage in responsible decision-making about sex, especially during adolescence when their emotional development accelerates (Shaibu,2020). In the views of Odimegwu and Somefun (2017), sex education therefore should include finding out what young people already know, adding to their existing knowledge, and correcting misinformation, because, without correct information, young people can put themselves at greater risk. Adequate sexual education involving interdisciplinary teamschool physicians, psychologists, and social workers are required (Sosa, 2020).
To ensure an effective sex education programme, school social workers should play their roles. The roles of social workers have often been designed to respond to the needs of the education system and follow changes in policies that are implemented at the state and national levels (Peckover et al., 2013). School social workers guide curriculum development with an overall emphasis on human relations, social protection, and the all-round development of the students or pupils. Given their expertise in social psychology and human development, they contribute to charting innovations in teaching methodologies and contents of subjects and courses that will enhance the potential of students/pupils alongside their families, communities, and nations (Okah et al., 2017). They must focus on advocacy and creating more inclusive environments that would address sexual development by changing policies and building staff capacity to address these issues of premarital sex (Sosa, 2020); and should use mass media, particularly social media to create awareness for their intervention programmes to reach out to a wider audience (Afolabi, 2021).
The study is not without limitations. The fact that the study was conducted in 1 out of the 13 local government areas in Ebonyi state is not enough because the opinions and views of students and staff from the remaining 12 local governments are not considered here. We, therefore, recommend similar studies that will not only cover Ebonyi state but the entire southeast states. Second, the study covered only students and teachers thereby excluding the parents. We suggest that a similar study that will include parents of adolescent students be conducted in Ebonyi state to allow for their opinions.
In conclusion, the study found the urgent need to reintroduce a functional sex education policy that will be functional in our secondary schools to tame the increasing wave of premarital sex. Though the government and civil society organizations have initiated many programmes including sex education policy aimed at educating the students on dangers associated with antisocial behaviours including teenage sex, the rate at which many students still engage in sex, which in most cases results in teenage pregnancy is still alarming. This is because the sex education policy is not being carried out in schools. To save our students, concerted efforts should be devoted to making policies that will ensure a drastic reduction in premarital sex among our students. In light of the above, therefore, we recommend that sex education should be made compulsory in our secondary schools. Since school is always regarded as the second home of the students, we suggest there should be regular counselling and education of students on sexuality by health educators and school social workers. This will help them know the right thing to do about their sexual life and begin to see sex topic as a normal topic for discussion, and in turn aid in the reduction of early pregnancy, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual abuse, and death. The government and the general public should be made to understand that sex education does not encourage immoral behaviour or expose students to sexual promiscuity, but equip students with the right knowledge of sexuality and make them worthy ambassadors. In particular, social workers should be involved in the conception, designing, and implementation of sex education policy in secondary schools because they are equipped with a repertoire of knowledge of social policy aimed at improving the conditions of the people including students. They should carry out enlightenment campaigns on the dangers associated with the lack of sex education and premarital sex activities by the students.