KNOWLEDGE OF HIV/AIDS AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS OF SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN PORT-HARCOURT LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the knowledge of HIV/AIDS and sexual behaviours of senior secondary school students in Port Harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State. A two- staged random sampling techniques was used to select Four hundred students. Data was collected using a semi-structured self-administered questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square statistics at 0.05 significant levels. The mean age of respondents was 16.3±1.6years, 68.7% were females, 31.3% were males, and 99.5% were Christians. Overall mean knowledge score was 15.9±3.6.About half (51.0%) of the respondents had knowledge score greater than 50%. The study revealed a non-significant relationship between gender and knowledge of HIV/AIDS. However more (64.8%) females compared to(35.2%)males had good knowledge of HIV/AIDS. More than a quarter (28.9%) of the respondents had sexual partners. Out of this, 39.4% did not use any form of protection during last sexual episode and mean age at sexual debut was14.2±3.3years.The mean number of sexual partners was 1.5±1.1partners. Knowledge of HIV/AIDS was high while risky sexual behaviour persists. Behavioural change intervention including sex education among secondary students is therefore recommended