INFLUENCE OF DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS ON ATTITUDE TOWARDS PERSONAL HYGIENE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN MBAITOLI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IMO STATE

Abstract

The study aimed to ascertain the influence of demographic factors on demographic factors and attitude towards personal hygiene among secondary school students in Mbaitoli Local Government Area, Imo State. The study employed analytic survey research design. The sample for the study was 560 respondents. The systematic sampling technique was used to select the sample for the study. The instrument used for the study was self-structured questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.96. Three hypotheses were postulated and tested at 0.05 alpha levels using inferential statistics of chi-square (x2). The results showed that majority of the students (61.42%) had negative attitude towards personal hygiene. The result also revealed that, age (20.67; P< 0.05), and class of study (99.66; P< 0.05) of the respondents had influence on attitude towards personal hygiene among secondary school students in Mbaitoli Local Government Area. However, gender (0.03; P< 0.05) had no influence on the attitude towards personal hygiene among secondary school students in Mbaitoli Imo State. It was concluded that secondary school students in Mbaitoli Local Government Area, Imo State had negative attitude towards personal hygiene. Hence, it was recommended that curriculum experts should include personal hygiene topics and contents in school syllabus for all age brackets, this is to enhance early teaching of personal hygiene skills and attitude. The students should be emphatically re-oriented in their various schools by the school authorities on the importance of personal hygiene as a strategy for health promotion.