South African Adolescents: Pathways to Risky Sexual Behavior

Abstract

This study tested a developmental model of pathways to risky sexual behavior among South African adolescents. Participants comprised 633 adolescents, 12-17 years old, recruited from households in Durban, South Africa. Data were collected using in-person interviews. Topics included adolescents' sexual behaviors, household poverty levels, vulnerable personality and behavioral attributes, parent-child relations, and deviant peers. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the pathways to risky sexual behavior among the adolescents. The goodness-of-fit index (GFI) was .93. One major pathway indicated that family poverty was associated with difficulty in the parent-child relationship. This was related to vulnerable personality and behavioral attributes and to association with deviant peers, which, in turn, were related to risky sexual behavior. Findings suggest that poverty, parent-child relations, personality and behavioral vulnerabilities, and peer influences should be among factors addressed by prevention and intervention programs to reduce sexual risk behaviors by South African adolescents.

Beyond love: a qualitative analysis of factors associated with teenage pregnancy among young women with pregnancy experience in Bolgatanga, Ghana

“…Studies in South Africa (Bhana and Pattman 2011;Harrison, Cleland, and Frohlich 2008) and in Malawi (Poulin 2007) have pointed to a long tradition in poorer societies whereby young people's sexual partnerships are more about economic gain than love. Our findings also support the conclusion of Brook et al (2006) that family poverty is directly related to risky sexual behaviours. So long as young women do not have the means to live their lives independent of men, they will always engage in unwanted/forced relationships.…”

Parental Investment, Club Membership, and Youth Sexual Risk Behavior in Cape Town

“…Family and household influences on adolescent risk behavior in South Africa have only recently been explored (Brook, Morojele, Zhang, & Brook, 2006;Giles, Liddell, & Bydawell, 2005) and suggest the importance of parents and family in influencing adolescent sexual behavior, particularly in rural areas. Poverty has been found to be associated with a more fragile parent-child relationship, which influences risky sexual behavior (via vulnerable personality attributes and associations with deviant peers; Brook et al, 2006). Building on this literature, we have examined the direct role of parental coresidence, time spent with the child, and financial support of the child (controlling for household income) to sexual risk behaviors among urban South African adolescents.…”

Contracepção em jovens universitários portugueses

“…Diversos estudos, realizados no âmbito dos comportamentos sexuais, consideram os jovens um grupo prioritário de intervenção (Almeida et al, 1996;Nodin, 2001) devido ao início da actividade sexual ser cada vez mais cedo (Lindsay, Smith & Rosenthal, 1997;Nodin, 2001), à duração dos relacionamentos, à existência de parceiros ocasionais e ao uso inconsistente dos métodos contraceptivos e do preservativo (Beadnell et al, 2005;Brook et al, 2006).…”

“…Estudos recentes revelam ainda, uma provável associação entre o consumo de álcool e drogas e a prática de comportamentos sexuais de risco (Brook et al, 2006;Eaton et al, 2005;Labrie et al, 2005;Lindsay, Smith & Rosenthal, 1997). Segundo Lindsay, Smith e Rosenthal (1997) os jovens que consomem álcool têm maior dificuldade em praticar sexo seguro e recusar relações sexuais não desejadas.…”

“…Estes resultados estão de acordo com a literatura (Brook et al, 2006;Eaton et al, 2005) e confirmam a nossa quarta hipótese. No entanto, os rapazes, quando questionados acerca do método contraceptivo utilizado habitualmente, com mais frequência do que as raparigas, referem o preservativo com intenção de prevenir uma IST.…”