Self-Efficacy About Sexual Behavior Among Islamic Boarding School Students

Abstract

Abstract Having premarital sexual intercourse has a broad risk impact on health. This is following the teachings of Islam that should be upheld by all Muslims, with no exception for students living in Islamic boarding schools. To Islamic values and culture, students should have strong self-efficacy to prevent them from engaging in sexual behavior. This study aims to determine the effect of self-efficacy on the sexual behavior of students living in Islamic boarding schools. This cross-sectional study was conducted between June and August 2023. The sample was 150 students who lived in an Islamic boarding school in Semarang, Indonesia, taken by random sampling technique. Data was collected through interviews and then analyzed by logistic regression. Students at Islamic boarding schools who had premarital sex were more likely to be found in adolescents aged <19 years (15.2%), male (9.5%), had low self-efficacy (18.2%), and ever accessed pornography (23.1%). Accessing pornography was influenced by sex (p = 0.021, OR = 0.235), while premarital sexual intercourse behavior was influenced by age (p = 0.013, OR = 10.716) and self-efficacy (p = 0.043, OR = 4.602). Younger students with low self-efficacy are more likely to practice premarital sexual intercourse. This study found that accessing pornography did not affect the practice of sex carried out by students in Islamic boarding schools. The health ministry needs to work with the religious affairs ministry to design programs aimed at increasing self-efficacy among students in Islamic boarding schools.