Body image perception (BIP) is the interpretation that a person has of his/her physical self, ranging from the shape and colour of hair, head, eyes, nose, lips, teeth, ear, breast, waist, hip, leg, skin and reproductive system functioning and the thoughts and feelings that result from that perception. Current research has focused mostly on age, sex, education background and socioeconomic factor as contributory to risky sexual behaviour, thereby little is known about the influence of perception of body image on engagement in risky sexual behaviour. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine female university undergraduates’ perception of their body image and to investigate the predictive contribution of body image perception on female university undergraduates’ engagement in risky sexual behaviour. Female university undergraduates over 1500 in Southwestern Nigeria constitute the sample size of this analytical study. The body image perception of individuals was measured by the Body Image Scale and the risky sexual behaviour of selected females was measured using the Youth Risk Behaviour Scale. 67.7% of them demonstrated positive body image perception while 32.3% of sampled female university undergraduates demonstrated negative body image perception. Body image perception was found contributing to risky sexual behaviour. The findings suggest that closer attention should be given to exhibiting positive body image perception which is a strong predictor of risky sexual behaviour.

Authors:
Precious Akintoye, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
Sehindr Oluwatosin, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria

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Posted by Clive Staples Lewis

Last updated: 2023-02-23 23:45:00

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