PARENTING STYLES AND TEENAGE SEXUAL BEHAVIOURS AMONG TEENAGE MOTHERS IN SELECTED PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KAJIADO COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

ABSTRACT Each parenting approach has crucial implications for children's future functional development as a whole, and all play a role in guiding children as they grow into adults. The objectives of this study were to find out the parenting styles of parents of teenage mothers, the sexual behaviours among teenage mothers, the influence of parenting styles on teenage sexual behaviours among teenage mothers and the strategies used to prevent sexual behaviours among teenage mothers in Kajiado County. Bandura's of Social Learning Theory and Baumrind's Theory of Parenting influenced the research. A total of 310 participants, including 298 teen mothers, 6 parents, and 6 high school counselling department heads, participated in the study, which used a concurrent mixed-method design. Two sub counties were chosen in light of the rising number of teen pregnancies in certain areas. Census sampling technique was used to select 298 teenage mothers. 6 parents were selected using systematic sampling, and the 6 schools' counseling teachers were selected using a purposive sampling technique. The parenting styles of the teenagers were assessed with the help of an adapted parental style Four-Factor Questionnaire and an interview schedule. Information about teenage sexual behaviours was gathered using the Adolescent Clinical Sexual Behaviours Inventory-S (ACSBI-S). Frequencies, means, standard deviations, and percentages were all utilized in descriptive statistics. The data collected from the interviews that were semistructured were coded, processed, and presented verbatim after undergoing theme analysis. The associations between the dependent and independent variables were analyzed using Pearson correlation. The study found no evidence of a correlation between approaches to parenting and teen sexual behaviours, and instead found out that a variety of other factors played a role. Influence from peers, social factors, cultural/religious influences, economic considerations, stress and emotional strain, and media influence are all contributors to teenage sexual behaviours. School's position as a guardian, availability of resources, peer education, open lines of communication, and media literacy were listed as means to curb adolescent sexual behaviours and pregnancy. Multidisciplinary techniques were recommended for dealing with issues including forced sex and poor sexual behaviours, as well as for educating parents and helping teenage mothers. Long-term planning and goal-setting in the context of sexual health education were also recommended.