This quantitative study sought to identify and describe factors influencing HIV disclosure and sexual practices among 340 PLWHA on ART at Mbabane National Referral VCT/ART Centre, Swaziland. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. A high general HIV disclosure rate (94.1%; f=320; N=340) was observed of which 57.5% (f=184; n=320) was to sexual partners. X2 procedures indicate an association with gender, residential region, religion, and period of being on ART. The majority (70.2%; f=179; n=255) of the respondents used condoms all the time to avoid infecting their sexual partners (99.2%; f=243; n=245) and to avoid contracting STIs (99.2%; f=243; n=245). X2 procedures indicate an association with gender, residential region, marital status, number of sexual partners, knowledge of the HIV status of sexual partners and period of being on ART. The single leading reason for not using the condom was sexual partners’ refusal to use condoms (85.7%; f=54; n=63). / Health Studies / M.A.(Health Studies)

MA (Sociology) / Department of Sociology / This study aims to investigate the socio-cultural influence towards the risky sexual behaviour of adolescents in eSikhaleni, in context of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS epidemic. The study will adapt a qualitative approach. It is an explanatory study goes beyond simple description to model empirically the phenomenon under study. The participants were drawn from two categories. The participants for the key informant interviews were selected purposively and they include community leaders, high schools principals and life orientation teachers. The adolescent’s learners were selected using a snowball sampling technique. Data was analysed thematically, matrices were created using to content thematic analysis. The responses were grouped thematically. Broad categories were then generated to differentiate and explain the thoughts expressed by the respondents. Invitations to participate on the study were sent to respondents by submitting informed consent electronically and in person. When participants completed the structured interview they were not required to reveal their personal or contact details. The findings of the study reveals that risky sexual behavior amongst adolescents learners is as a result of a number of factors which include the diminishing role of parenting, death of morality in society, poverty and deprivation just to name a few. The recommendations advanced speak to the need for government to have a multipronged strategy of resolving the problem.

Text in English / Teenage pregnancy remains a major social, economic and health challenge in South Africa. The consequences of unplanned teenage pregnancies are devastating. The current study explored the impact of teenage pregnancy on disadvantaged adolescents in Mpumalanga. Fourteen adolescent girls were selected, using the purposive sampling technique. The objectives were to explore the experiences of adolescence, as well as their knowledge of various methods of preventing teenage pregnancy, and how they cope with the pregnancy. The study further explored programmes that are available to assist with teenage pregnancies in the community. Data was collected using in-depth one on one interviews to allow the researcher a platform to ask open-response questions. The data was thematically analysed by carefully categorising and expanding significant themes that emerged from the participant’s responses. The study revealed that lack of knowledge about sex and contraceptives, unhealthy coping strategies, lack of support from parents and peer pressure are all effects of teenage pregnancy and the reasons for participating in unprotected sexual activities. Recommendations for overcoming these challenges were provided to the community, schools and government organisations as guidelines in the establishment of youth programmes. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

The diploma thesis called "The Attitudes of Youth towards Addictive Substances and Prevention in Kralupy nad Vltavou" consists of theoretical and practical part. It contains a total of eight chapters. Professional literature was used for the creation of the theoretical part. The theoretical part focuses on the concept of youth, the description of specific legal and illegal addictive substances, non-substance or behavioral addictions, categories of users of addictive substances, the position of curator for children and youth and prevention. The practical part contains the results of quantitative research represented by graphs and the final discussion. The graphs used in the practical part describe the findings of the quantitative research conducted in three educational institutions in Kralupy nad Vltavou using anonymous questionnaires. Practical part of this diploma theses answers questions about the attitudes of young people in Kralupy nad Vltavou to addictive substances, questions concerning the use of modern technologies and last but not least questions concerning prevention.

Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) is at the core of HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment and care programmes. Timely access to treatment and related services requires knowledge of one‟s HIV status. Adolescents are at the epicentre of the HIV and AIDS pandemic. This study investigated the factors that influence adolescents‟ decisions to actively seek VCT. Semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews were conducted with twelve adolescents aged 15 to 19 who were conveniently selected to participate in the study. The study found that adolescents have extensive knowledge regarding the benefits of VCT and acknowledge the need to test for HIV. However, fear of the consequences of testing positive for HIV such as stigmatisation by family and the community, inability to influence their partners to take an HIV test and the inability to make their own decisions and follow through on them still hinder their maximum uptake of VCT. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

People dying of HIV/AIDS and the delay in finding a cure has put education programmes at the centre of HIV/AIDS management. The study purpose is to investigate the effects of Life Orientation programme on HIV/AIDS prevention knowledge, attitudes and behaviours amongst college students at a TVET College in Randburg. A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design was used, and a questionnaire was administered to level 1 students (n=141). Data was collected, and analysed using SPSS version 25. The findings showed a relationship between Life Orientation (LO) and knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of students towards HIV/AIDS. Students with high Life Orientation perception reported adequate knowledge and positive attitudes. Many respondents revealed high levels of HIV/AIDS knowledge, healthy behaviour and positive attitude towards HIV/AIDS, showing that Life Orientation had aided in those areas. However, some students had poor perceptions of HIV/AIDS knowledge, henceforth lacked the confidence to protect themselves. Several recommendations to health promoters, education policymakers and the community were given. / Health Studies / M. P. H.

Cette thèse est organisée en trois chapitres et s’articule autour des questions liées à la famille, à l’éducation et à la santé dans les pays en développement. Le premier chapitre s’intéresse à la compréhension de la maladie VIH et de son lien avec les caractéristiques socio-économiques des populations en Afrique subsaharienne. Dans ce chapitre, j’analyse l’existence d’une relation causale entre le niveau d’éducation et le fait d’être porteur du virus VIH chez les femmes. Grâce à la reforme de gratuité de l’éducation primaire adoptée et mise en œuvre en Zambie dès 2002 et qui a contribué à une augmentation substantielle du niveau d’éducation chez les femmes, j’estime une régression sur discontinuité que j’interagis avec la construction de nouvelles écoles. Les résultats montrent qu’une augmentation exogène de l’éducation des filles conduit à une augmentation du taux de VIH chez la femme ; et qu’il n’y a pas d’évidence que la connaissance que les femmes ont du VIH soit liée à l'augmentation de leur niveau d'éducation. Aussi, l’éducation des femmes n’améliore pas leur comportement à risque. Cet effet positif de l’éducation sur le VIH est plutôt dû à l’urbanisation accrue des femmes les plus instruites. Le deuxième et le troisième chapitre portent sur le confiage des enfants en Afrique. Dans le chapitre 2, co-écrit avec Caleb Gbeholo, nous examinons les déterminants de confiage des enfants et les caractéristiques de l’enfant confié. A cet effet, nous utilisons les données d’une enquête que nous avons organisé et réalisé au Bénin en 2022 et qui porte sur les conditions de vie dans l’enfance et la qualité de vie à l’âge adulte. Les analyses montrent que le niveau d’éducation des parents et la perte d’un parent pendant l’enfance sont associés au confiage des enfants. En ce qui concerne le choix de l’enfant confié, les résultats montrent que les filles sont généralement les plus confiées et la probabilité d’être confié décroît strictement avec l’ordre de naissance de l’enfant dans la fratrie. Le chapitre 3 est co-écrit avec Caleb Gbeholo, Raphael Godefroy et Joshua Lewis. Il étudie l’effet du confiage sur l’éducation et la fertilité. En utilisant les mêmes données que celle du chapitre 2, nous montrons que les adultes confiés dans leur enfance sont moins susceptibles de fréquenter une école que leurs frères et sœurs non confiés. Nous montrons que cette différence du niveau d’éducation s’est accrue après la réforme du système éducatif dans les années 1990 au Bénin. Par ailleurs, nous trouvons qu’il n’existe aucune différence de fertilité entre les enfants confiés et les frères et sœurs non confiés. Nous estimons que le confiage peut expliquer une part importante de la différence de niveau d’éducation entre les hommes et les femmes. / This dissertation is organized in three chapters and revolves around issues related to family, education and health in developing countries. The first chapter studies how education affects women's HIV infection. By using an education reform that led to a sharp increase in women's education in Zambia, I estimate RDD, interacted with geographic differences in school supply. I find that an increase in female education led to HIV higher rate. I find no evidence that education affected women's HIV knowledge and their risky behaviors. Instead, the results are driven by the increased urbanization of the better educated women. The second and third chapters address the practice of child fostering in Sub-saharan Africa. In the chapter 2, co-authored with Caleb Gbeholo, we examine the determinants of child fostering across and within family in Benin. In this purpose, we rely a dataset that comes from a unique survey that we designed and conducted in Benin in 2022. We find that parents' education and the lost of one parent during childhood are associated with child fostering. The fostered child is chosen according his gender and his birth order, with daughters facing a high risk of fostering during childhood. Furthermore, the child probability to be foster is steady decline by birth order. The chapter 3, co-authored with Caleb Gbeholo, Raphael Godefroy and Joshua Lewis, studies the effect of child fostering on education and fertility. Using the same dataset as in chapter 2, we estimate that adults who were fostered as a child are significantly less likely to have attended school than their siblings. We show that this difference in education achievement increased after the launch of an education reform in the 1990s. We find no difference in fertility. We estimate that the practice of child fostering may account for a substantial share of the gender gap in education.

AIDS-related illnesses are the leading cause of deaths in South Africa. Alcohol misuse among male youths fuels the risk of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), including HIV. Literature review was conducted on the association of alcohol misuse and the risk of contracting HIV among male youths. In this qualitative study fourteen male youths, all from Soshanguve in Gauteng province, participated in face-to-face interviews. The male youths who misuse alcohol show greater signs of indulging in risky sexual intercourse. In addition, the male youths who find their sexual partners at taverns were less likely to use condoms during sex. Other factors linked to alcohol misuse that hinder HIV-prevention include multiple sexual partners, transactional sex, men who have sex with men (MSM), young men’s dominance over young women and non-use of condoms. The findings of this research project indicate the need of deliberate focus on alcohol misuse during HIV-prevention education. HIV-prevention interventions should pay attention to reducing sexual risk behaviour associated with alcohol misuse among young men. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

AIDS-related illnesses are the leading cause of deaths in South Africa. Alcohol misuse among male youths fuels the risk of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), including HIV. Literature review was conducted on the association of alcohol misuse and the risk of contracting HIV among male youths. In this qualitative study fourteen male youths, all from Soshanguve in Gauteng province, participated in face-to-face interviews. The male youths who misuse alcohol show greater signs of indulging in risky sexual intercourse. In addition, the male youths who find their sexual partners at taverns were less likely to use condoms during sex. Other factors linked to alcohol misuse that hinder HIV-prevention include multiple sexual partners, transactional sex, men who have sex with men (MSM), young men’s dominance over young women and non-use of condoms. The findings of this research project indicate the need of deliberate focus on alcohol misuse during HIV-prevention education. HIV-prevention interventions should pay attention to reducing sexual risk behaviour associated with alcohol misuse among young men. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)