Effects of school-based life skills training on health risk behaviour among in-school adolescents in Delta State Nigeria

Abstract

Adolescents in Delta State engage in such health risk behaviour as: smoking, alcohol use, drug abuse, multiple sexual partners and illegal abortion. Health risk taking threatens attainment of individual health and well-being, as well as sustainable national development. There is an urgent need to stem the tide of health risk taking among the youths who are leaders of tomorrow. This study investigated effects of school based life skills training on health risk behaviour among in-school adolescents in Delta State. A pretest-post-test control group quasi experimental research design was adopted in this study. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted. Simple random sampling technique was used to select one local government area from each of the three senatorial districts. Purposive sampling technique was used to select one coeducational school each from the selected three local government areas. Three secondary schools were-randomly assigned to two experimental groups and control group. A sample of two hundred and sixteen students was used in the study. Four research hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level of significance. Data collected were analysed using ANCOVA. Findings showed that, there was a significant main effect of treatment (school based life skills training) on health risk behaviours among in-school adolescents (F{2,204} = 19.063 P<0.05). Based on the finding, it was recommended that, school teachers should be re-trained in the use of life-skills and should be encouraged to employ the approach in classroom teaching.