Sexual risk behaviour and its associated factors among university students in Malaysia
Introduction: Sexual risk behaviour (SRB) is a high-risk act that often led to many reproductive health psychological related issues. Such behaviour is becoming higher among university students, and this has been one of the major public health concerns worldwide. Objective: The aim of this study was...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2025
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120418/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120418/1/120418.pdf |
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| author | Mohamad, Fadzilah Kamaruddin, Khairatul Nainey Shibraumalisi, Nur Amirah Syed Mohamad, Sharifah Najwa Mohd Azlan, Syifa Dahlan, Rahima Ismail, Irmi Zarina Kadir Shahar, Hayati Shamsuddin, Nurainul Hana |
| author_facet | Mohamad, Fadzilah Kamaruddin, Khairatul Nainey Shibraumalisi, Nur Amirah Syed Mohamad, Sharifah Najwa Mohd Azlan, Syifa Dahlan, Rahima Ismail, Irmi Zarina Kadir Shahar, Hayati Shamsuddin, Nurainul Hana |
| author_sort | Mohamad, Fadzilah |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Introduction: Sexual risk behaviour (SRB) is a high-risk act that often led to many reproductive health psychological related issues. Such behaviour is becoming higher among university students, and this has been one of the major public health concerns worldwide. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of sexual risk behaviour (SRB), and the factors associated to this behaviour among students attending universities in Malaysia. This was a nationwide research study which may serve as a baseline local data which for policy makers to strengthen the current sexual reproductive health intervention and prevention programmes. Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted in 28 universities in Malaysia. Stratified random sampling was applied. It was an online questionnaire that consisted of participants’ socio-demographic background, academic background, substance abuse, history of childhood abuse, religiosity, knowledge on sexuality, attitude on pre-marital sex, parents’ parenting behaviour, peer influence and SRB. Data was analysed using SPSS 29 software. Descriptive statistics were computed for all variables, whereby the association between SRB and variables above were analysed using logistic regression analysis. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: This study recruited 1172 respondents. The prevalence of SRB among the university students was found to be 7.2%. The respondents’ mean age was 20.16 ± 1.66. Smoking/vaping history (AOR 5.91 (3.49–10.01)), alcohol use (AOR 1.93 (1.10–3.40)), age (AOR: 1.88 (1.14–3.12)), peer pressure (AOR 1.10 (1.04–1.17)), father care (0.96 (0.93–0.99)) and non-organized religious activity (NORA) (AOR 0.72 (0.63–0.84)) were found to be statistically significant. Protective factors were father care and NORA. The higher the father care and NORA, the less likelihood the students would engage in SRB. Conclusion: Prevalence of SRB among university students was 7.2% and the factors associated with SRB were age, smoking status, alcohol use, peer pressure, fathercare and NORA. Preventive plans of such behaviour must be made parallel to the needs of the youth as this generation represents the future of the country. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:48:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-120418 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:48:20Z |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1204182025-10-01T04:17:11Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120418/ Sexual risk behaviour and its associated factors among university students in Malaysia Mohamad, Fadzilah Kamaruddin, Khairatul Nainey Shibraumalisi, Nur Amirah Syed Mohamad, Sharifah Najwa Mohd Azlan, Syifa Dahlan, Rahima Ismail, Irmi Zarina Kadir Shahar, Hayati Shamsuddin, Nurainul Hana Introduction: Sexual risk behaviour (SRB) is a high-risk act that often led to many reproductive health psychological related issues. Such behaviour is becoming higher among university students, and this has been one of the major public health concerns worldwide. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of sexual risk behaviour (SRB), and the factors associated to this behaviour among students attending universities in Malaysia. This was a nationwide research study which may serve as a baseline local data which for policy makers to strengthen the current sexual reproductive health intervention and prevention programmes. Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted in 28 universities in Malaysia. Stratified random sampling was applied. It was an online questionnaire that consisted of participants’ socio-demographic background, academic background, substance abuse, history of childhood abuse, religiosity, knowledge on sexuality, attitude on pre-marital sex, parents’ parenting behaviour, peer influence and SRB. Data was analysed using SPSS 29 software. Descriptive statistics were computed for all variables, whereby the association between SRB and variables above were analysed using logistic regression analysis. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: This study recruited 1172 respondents. The prevalence of SRB among the university students was found to be 7.2%. The respondents’ mean age was 20.16 ± 1.66. Smoking/vaping history (AOR 5.91 (3.49–10.01)), alcohol use (AOR 1.93 (1.10–3.40)), age (AOR: 1.88 (1.14–3.12)), peer pressure (AOR 1.10 (1.04–1.17)), father care (0.96 (0.93–0.99)) and non-organized religious activity (NORA) (AOR 0.72 (0.63–0.84)) were found to be statistically significant. Protective factors were father care and NORA. The higher the father care and NORA, the less likelihood the students would engage in SRB. Conclusion: Prevalence of SRB among university students was 7.2% and the factors associated with SRB were age, smoking status, alcohol use, peer pressure, fathercare and NORA. Preventive plans of such behaviour must be made parallel to the needs of the youth as this generation represents the future of the country. Springer Nature 2025-05-19 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_nc_nd_4 http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120418/1/120418.pdf Mohamad, Fadzilah and Kamaruddin, Khairatul Nainey and Shibraumalisi, Nur Amirah and Syed Mohamad, Sharifah Najwa and Mohd Azlan, Syifa and Dahlan, Rahima and Ismail, Irmi Zarina and Kadir Shahar, Hayati and Shamsuddin, Nurainul Hana (2025) Sexual risk behaviour and its associated factors among university students in Malaysia. Discover Social Science and Health, 5 (1). art. no. 79. pp. 1-12. ISSN 2731-0469 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44155-025-00230-4?error=cookies_not_supported&code=766bf8d8-2635-4ad2-afff-5ab589cca313 10.1007/s44155-025-00230-4 |
| spellingShingle | Mohamad, Fadzilah Kamaruddin, Khairatul Nainey Shibraumalisi, Nur Amirah Syed Mohamad, Sharifah Najwa Mohd Azlan, Syifa Dahlan, Rahima Ismail, Irmi Zarina Kadir Shahar, Hayati Shamsuddin, Nurainul Hana Sexual risk behaviour and its associated factors among university students in Malaysia |
| title | Sexual risk behaviour and its associated factors among university students in Malaysia |
| title_full | Sexual risk behaviour and its associated factors among university students in Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Sexual risk behaviour and its associated factors among university students in Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sexual risk behaviour and its associated factors among university students in Malaysia |
| title_short | Sexual risk behaviour and its associated factors among university students in Malaysia |
| title_sort | sexual risk behaviour and its associated factors among university students in malaysia |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120418/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120418/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120418/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120418/1/120418.pdf |