Gender, religiosity and self-esteem as predictors of sexual attitudes of students in a Nigerian tertiary institution

Several studies on sexual attitudes among students in Nigeria have focused on university students; leaving out other categories of students in tertiary institutions. This study therefore investigated gender, religiosity and self esteem as predictors of sexual attitudes among polytechnic students in Nigeria. Using a cross sectional survey design, five hundred (500) students (212 males and 288 females) were purposively selected for the study. Questionnaire comprises of demographic information, self esteem scale and sexual attitudes scale was used for data collection. The participants‟ ages range from 15 to 35 years (X=22.28, SD= 3.17). Results showed that religiosity independently and significantly predicted sexual attitudes (β = .16; P<.05). All the predictor variables jointly predicted sexual attitudes F (9,436) = 2.12, P<.05 with 40% variation in dependent variable. There was no gender difference in sexual attitudes of students (t=-1.14; df =498; P>.05). Self-esteem did not significantly influence sexual attitudes of students (t=0.37; df =498; P>.05. The finding suggests continuous religious inculcation in the mind of the Nigerian students in the tertiary institutions and their frequent involvement in religious activities to promote conservative sexual attitudes and help reduce sexual risk behavior in the population.Keywords: Sexual attitudes, self-esteem, religiosity, gender, tertiary institutions, student