Premarital sex among school-going malay female teens : a case study in Selangor

Abstract

Increasing numbers of school-going Malay teens are engaging in premarital sex despite strong opposition of both the Malay culture and religion (Islam) against sex outside marriage. The main purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Malay female teens on the reasons for their involvement in premarital sex. The study also examined the experiences of the teens with religion, particularly their religious upbringing, their attitudes toward religion and the role of religion in their involvement with premarital sex. Using the case study qualitative research method, two occasions of in-depth interviews were conducted with five Malay female teens who have been pregnant while attending school as a result of their engagement in consensual premarital sex. Results showed that there were several interrelated reasons for the involvement of Malay female teens in premarital sex which are teens own attitudes and personal characteristics (seeking worldly enjoyment, curiosity, rebellious, and strong desire for sex), parenting style and family characteristics (harsh parenting, lack of parental warmth and affection, poor parent-child communication, and lack of parental supervision), peer influence, romantic relationship, romantic partner influence, pornography, and lack of religious conviction. Clearly seen in the teens? accounts of the reasons for their involvement in premarital sex are the combination factors of environmental and the teens? own attitudes and personal characteristics. The findings also revealed that the teens? parents laid high emphasis on religion in their homes, the participants received good religious education, and they possess reasonable religious knowledge particularly on the commands and the prohibitions of the religion. Nevertheless despite all these, the teens exhibited poor attitudes toward religion whereby they did not obey much of the religious teachings and rarely performed the obligatory prayer though stressed by their parents. Hence, as far as religion is concerned the study?s findings demonstrated that religion was not an integral part of the lives of the Malay female teens who had had involved in premarital sex whereby religious matters did not rule their lives significantly. Based on the findings of the study, Islamic measures in dealing with teens? premarital sex were proposed.