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Agency or structure? Nigerian university students' perspectives of influences on sexual risk taking. / Amaechi Dickson Okonkwo

Swansea University Author: Amaechi Dickson Okonkwo

Abstract

This thesis is about influences on young people's sexual risk taking. It is situated within a complex context of young people's sustained structural/self-sexualisation, significant sexual activity, unwanted outcomes such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), intended benefits such as...

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Published: 2009
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42787
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fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2018-08-02T16:24:30.4921985</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>42787</id><entry>2018-08-02</entry><title>Agency or structure? Nigerian university students' perspectives of influences on sexual risk taking.</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>a099a1f815161c225f76b272446b3f21</sid><ORCID>NULL</ORCID><firstname>Amaechi Dickson</firstname><surname>Okonkwo</surname><name>Amaechi Dickson Okonkwo</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>true</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2018-08-02</date><abstract>This thesis is about influences on young people's sexual risk taking. It is situated within a complex context of young people's sustained structural/self-sexualisation, significant sexual activity, unwanted outcomes such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), intended benefits such as pleasure, and recurrent interventionists' promotion of abstinence-until-marriage sexual norm to young people. The above conceptualization is tested with a mixed-methodology that recruited fifty-six students with a snowball sampling technique. McCracken's long-interview and Stones' empirical research brackets for structuration theory facilitated narrative data collection, which were subjected to structural-hermeneutic analysis. Respondents identified four broad influences on their dominantly heterosexual behaviour. They include external influences (mass media), internal influences (positive pre-dispositions to premarital sex), agency (purposeful sexual action), and (un)intended outcome (STI and pleasure). Respondents emphasize that influences are non-hierarchical, differentially combine, and are dependent on individuals, contexts and seasons. They also infer the Nigerian context concurrently constrain and enable their sexual conducts via three normative sexual behaviour options. These are (1) the dominant Nigerian culture promoted abstinence-until-marriage. (2) Modernity sanctioned safer-sex with contraceptives. (3) Collective/individuated preference for unprotected premarital sex, periodic abstinence and contraceptive use. Respondents admit they practise the latter, which is a hybridization of option (1) and (2) and is illustrative of the co-influence of structure and agency on action. The conclusion is drawn that sexual risk taking is influenced by young people's concurrent structural/self sexualisation and their pursuit of contextual, personal and collectively meaningfial goals. Consequently, dominant linear conceptualizations of sexual risk taking, e.g. problem behaviour, will continue to be limited in effectiveness because they neglect these complex, recursive and interrelated influences. Thus, pragmatic efforts to manage risk-prone sexualities must concurrently engage their complex structural and agential sources, governed by safer-sex promotion, a recognition of multiple influences and individuated/collective value that both society and young people attach to sex.</abstract><type>E-Thesis</type><journal/><journalNumber></journalNumber><paginationStart/><paginationEnd/><publisher/><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic/><keywords>Clinical psychology.;Behavioral psychology.;Public health.</keywords><publishedDay>31</publishedDay><publishedMonth>12</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2009</publishedYear><publishedDate>2009-12-31</publishedDate><doi/><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Political and Cultural Studies</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><degreelevel>Doctoral</degreelevel><degreename>Ph.D</degreename><apcterm/><lastEdited>2018-08-02T16:24:30.4921985</lastEdited><Created>2018-08-02T16:24:30.4921985</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences</level><level id="2">School of Culture and Communication - Politics, Philosophy and International Relations</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Amaechi Dickson</firstname><surname>Okonkwo</surname><orcid>NULL</orcid><order>1</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>0042787-02082018162521.pdf</filename><originalFilename>10807563.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2018-08-02T16:25:21.8800000</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>24278133</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>E-Thesis</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><embargoDate>2018-08-02T16:25:21.8800000</embargoDate><copyrightCorrect>false</copyrightCorrect></document></documents><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
spelling 2018-08-02T16:24:30.4921985 v2 42787 2018-08-02 Agency or structure? Nigerian university students' perspectives of influences on sexual risk taking. a099a1f815161c225f76b272446b3f21 NULL Amaechi Dickson Okonkwo Amaechi Dickson Okonkwo true true 2018-08-02 This thesis is about influences on young people's sexual risk taking. It is situated within a complex context of young people's sustained structural/self-sexualisation, significant sexual activity, unwanted outcomes such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), intended benefits such as pleasure, and recurrent interventionists' promotion of abstinence-until-marriage sexual norm to young people. The above conceptualization is tested with a mixed-methodology that recruited fifty-six students with a snowball sampling technique. McCracken's long-interview and Stones' empirical research brackets for structuration theory facilitated narrative data collection, which were subjected to structural-hermeneutic analysis. Respondents identified four broad influences on their dominantly heterosexual behaviour. They include external influences (mass media), internal influences (positive pre-dispositions to premarital sex), agency (purposeful sexual action), and (un)intended outcome (STI and pleasure). Respondents emphasize that influences are non-hierarchical, differentially combine, and are dependent on individuals, contexts and seasons. They also infer the Nigerian context concurrently constrain and enable their sexual conducts via three normative sexual behaviour options. These are (1) the dominant Nigerian culture promoted abstinence-until-marriage. (2) Modernity sanctioned safer-sex with contraceptives. (3) Collective/individuated preference for unprotected premarital sex, periodic abstinence and contraceptive use. Respondents admit they practise the latter, which is a hybridization of option (1) and (2) and is illustrative of the co-influence of structure and agency on action. The conclusion is drawn that sexual risk taking is influenced by young people's concurrent structural/self sexualisation and their pursuit of contextual, personal and collectively meaningfial goals. Consequently, dominant linear conceptualizations of sexual risk taking, e.g. problem behaviour, will continue to be limited in effectiveness because they neglect these complex, recursive and interrelated influences. Thus, pragmatic efforts to manage risk-prone sexualities must concurrently engage their complex structural and agential sources, governed by safer-sex promotion, a recognition of multiple influences and individuated/collective value that both society and young people attach to sex. E-Thesis Clinical psychology.;Behavioral psychology.;Public health. 31 12 2009 2009-12-31 COLLEGE NANME Political and Cultural Studies COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Doctoral Ph.D 2018-08-02T16:24:30.4921985 2018-08-02T16:24:30.4921985 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - Politics, Philosophy and International Relations Amaechi Dickson Okonkwo NULL 1 0042787-02082018162521.pdf 10807563.pdf 2018-08-02T16:25:21.8800000 Output 24278133 application/pdf E-Thesis true 2018-08-02T16:25:21.8800000 false
title Agency or structure? Nigerian university students' perspectives of influences on sexual risk taking.
spellingShingle Agency or structure? Nigerian university students' perspectives of influences on sexual risk taking.
Amaechi Dickson Okonkwo
title_short Agency or structure? Nigerian university students' perspectives of influences on sexual risk taking.
title_full Agency or structure? Nigerian university students' perspectives of influences on sexual risk taking.
title_fullStr Agency or structure? Nigerian university students' perspectives of influences on sexual risk taking.
title_full_unstemmed Agency or structure? Nigerian university students' perspectives of influences on sexual risk taking.
title_sort Agency or structure? Nigerian university students' perspectives of influences on sexual risk taking.
author_id_str_mv a099a1f815161c225f76b272446b3f21
author_id_fullname_str_mv a099a1f815161c225f76b272446b3f21_***_Amaechi Dickson Okonkwo
author Amaechi Dickson Okonkwo
author2 Amaechi Dickson Okonkwo
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2009
institution Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - Politics, Philosophy and International Relations{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - Politics, Philosophy and International Relations
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description This thesis is about influences on young people's sexual risk taking. It is situated within a complex context of young people's sustained structural/self-sexualisation, significant sexual activity, unwanted outcomes such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), intended benefits such as pleasure, and recurrent interventionists' promotion of abstinence-until-marriage sexual norm to young people. The above conceptualization is tested with a mixed-methodology that recruited fifty-six students with a snowball sampling technique. McCracken's long-interview and Stones' empirical research brackets for structuration theory facilitated narrative data collection, which were subjected to structural-hermeneutic analysis. Respondents identified four broad influences on their dominantly heterosexual behaviour. They include external influences (mass media), internal influences (positive pre-dispositions to premarital sex), agency (purposeful sexual action), and (un)intended outcome (STI and pleasure). Respondents emphasize that influences are non-hierarchical, differentially combine, and are dependent on individuals, contexts and seasons. They also infer the Nigerian context concurrently constrain and enable their sexual conducts via three normative sexual behaviour options. These are (1) the dominant Nigerian culture promoted abstinence-until-marriage. (2) Modernity sanctioned safer-sex with contraceptives. (3) Collective/individuated preference for unprotected premarital sex, periodic abstinence and contraceptive use. Respondents admit they practise the latter, which is a hybridization of option (1) and (2) and is illustrative of the co-influence of structure and agency on action. The conclusion is drawn that sexual risk taking is influenced by young people's concurrent structural/self sexualisation and their pursuit of contextual, personal and collectively meaningfial goals. Consequently, dominant linear conceptualizations of sexual risk taking, e.g. problem behaviour, will continue to be limited in effectiveness because they neglect these complex, recursive and interrelated influences. Thus, pragmatic efforts to manage risk-prone sexualities must concurrently engage their complex structural and agential sources, governed by safer-sex promotion, a recognition of multiple influences and individuated/collective value that both society and young people attach to sex.
published_date 2009-12-31T03:53:39Z
_version_ 1763752667231813632
score 11.027207

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