Thesis (MPsych.(Department of Psychology))--University of the Western Cape, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.(leaves 99-105).

No description available.

This study is the first to collect detailed empirical data on sexual practice among backpackers while exploring the material and social context of backpacking using an ethnographic framework. The theoretical concepts of liminality and sexual scripts were drawn on to analyse the findings. Backpackers were recruited from hostels in Sydney and Cairns; 559 backpackers (243 women, 316 men) completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. In addition, 25 in-depth one-to-one interviews with backpackers and 25 semi-structured interviews were conducted with sexual health and travel clinic staff and hostel service providers. Participant and non-participant observation in backpacker hostels also informed the analysis. Drinking alcohol, often to excess, was central to the backpacking setting and was both a reason for and a post-facto justification of unprotected sex. The backpacking setting encouraged transient liaisons. More than half (55%) of backpackers had sex with someone new during their trip and for 71% of them it was with someone that they had just met that day. Twenty-five per cent of those with no expectations to have casual sex on their trip and 22% of those with no previous experience of casual sex had casual sex during their trip. More than half (53%) of those who had sex with a someone new did so while other people were in the room. Only 55% always used a condom with their last new partner. While most backpackers carried condoms and intended to use them, unprotected sex was common. Perception of risk was low: 78% of those who did not use a condom the last time they had casual sex on the trip perceived their risk of getting HIV to be ??low?? to ??nil??. Three participants acquired HIV during their trip. The culture of backpacking encourages more sexually permissive attitudes but does not encourage condom use, especially for those who did not consistently use condoms at home. These findings highlight the need for more broad-based dissemination of information on STIs to young people, and for future sexual health campaigns to specifically target backpackers in the context in which they travel.

The influence of peers and peer norms is a significant health determinant of adolescent sexual activity, yet little is known in health education about differences between peer pressure and friend pressure on adolescents. The objective of this study was to investigate differences between social norms among friends and social norms among peers and determine if differences influence adolescents’ sexual risk perceptions. As a secondary data analysis of the 2006 Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors Survey data, this study included 915 adolescents in grades 8, 10, and 12 who completed questions pertaining to perceived sexual activity rates and perceived risks from having unprotected sex. T-tests, analyses of variance, and linear regression analyses indicated that adolescents perceived a difference between social norms among peers and social norms among friends and that these differences influenced risk perceptions differently. Future research should explore how social norms among friends influence adolescents’ risk behaviors and how to incorporate this focus into effective and efficient sex education efforts.

This study is the first to collect detailed empirical data on sexual practice among backpackers while exploring the material and social context of backpacking using an ethnographic framework. The theoretical concepts of liminality and sexual scripts were drawn on to analyse the findings. Backpackers were recruited from hostels in Sydney and Cairns; 559 backpackers (243 women, 316 men) completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. In addition, 25 in-depth one-to-one interviews with backpackers and 25 semi-structured interviews were conducted with sexual health and travel clinic staff and hostel service providers. Participant and non-participant observation in backpacker hostels also informed the analysis. Drinking alcohol, often to excess, was central to the backpacking setting and was both a reason for and a post-facto justification of unprotected sex. The backpacking setting encouraged transient liaisons. More than half (55%) of backpackers had sex with someone new during their trip and for 71% of them it was with someone that they had just met that day. Twenty-five per cent of those with no expectations to have casual sex on their trip and 22% of those with no previous experience of casual sex had casual sex during their trip. More than half (53%) of those who had sex with a someone new did so while other people were in the room. Only 55% always used a condom with their last new partner. While most backpackers carried condoms and intended to use them, unprotected sex was common. Perception of risk was low: 78% of those who did not use a condom the last time they had casual sex on the trip perceived their risk of getting HIV to be ??low?? to ??nil??. Three participants acquired HIV during their trip. The culture of backpacking encourages more sexually permissive attitudes but does not encourage condom use, especially for those who did not consistently use condoms at home. These findings highlight the need for more broad-based dissemination of information on STIs to young people, and for future sexual health campaigns to specifically target backpackers in the context in which they travel.

HIV infection is a significant public health concern, particularly among young men who have sex with men (YMSM). Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective in preventing HIV infection among YMSM when taken as prescribed. However, there may be unintended behavioral consequences associated with PrEP initiation, with previous studies finding associations between PrEP use and increased sexual risk behaviors such as condomless anal sex (CAS). Further, problematic alcohol use, to which YMSM are particularly vulnerable, may also play a role in increasing sexual risk as engaging in sexual behaviors while under the influence of alcohol has been associated with CAS and other sexual risk behaviors. Previous literature has proposed risk compensation theory as a basis for this change in sexual risk behaviors following PrEP initiation. However, results have been mixed, and fewer studies have examined risk compensation specifically among YMSM or explored the role of alcohol-related sexual behaviors in this relationship. The present study aims to examine risk compensation theory as a mechanism for the relationship between PrEP initiation and alcohol-related sexual behaviors among YMSM. We hypothesized that the trajectory of PrEP initiation would be positively associated with alcohol-related sexual behaviors across 18 months. Consistent with hypothesis, a combined latent difference score and latent trajectory model revealed a positive association between PrEP initiation and alcohol-related sexual behaviors between baseline and 18-month follow-up in a sample of YMSM. These results are consistent with previous research identifying a high-risk period following PrEP initiation among an already vulnerable group (YMSM), with implications for risk assessment and interventions targeting alcohol-related sexual behaviors among YMSM. This study also highlights the role of alcohol use in increasing sexual risk following PrEP initiation. Findings may aid in reducing adverse sexual outcomes among YMSM who initiate PrEP and ultimately contribute to the minimization of sexual health disparities among YMSM.

No description available.

Black South African youth are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic, and risky sexual behaviors increase youths’ vulnerability to HIV infection. U.S.-based research has highlighted several contextual factors that impact sexual risk, but these processes have not been examined in a South African context. In a sample of Black South African parent-youth dyads, this study examined relations among parenting, neighborhood quality, maternal social support, coparenting, and youth sexual risk. Hypotheses were evaluated using structural equation modeling. Results revealed that better neighborhood quality predicted less youth sexual risk via higher levels of positive parenting. Social support was positively related to parenting quality but did not interact with neighborhood quality to impact parenting. Coparenting did not moderate the relation between parenting and sexual risk. Results highlight the importance of family- and community-level processes for youth sexual risk in an understudied and high-risk sample. HIV prevention-interventions should be informed by these contextual factors.

Student Number : 9904331V - MA research report - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of Humanities / The sexual behavioural choices made by adolescents is a salient issue in South Africa. The practice of risky sexual behaviour puts one at risk of unwanted pregnancy, STI and HIV infection. These behaviours affect one not only physically but mentally as well. Adolescence is a “turbulent” time in ones life and risky sexual behaviour makes this period all the more difficult and could result in disastrous consequences. This is due to the fact that sexual health and sexual practices of adolescents has implications for morbidity and mortality rates in South Africa. In order to address the issue of risky sexual behavioural choices made by adolescents, this study has examined the effect of family characteristics on adolescent sexual behavioural choices. The 1998 South African Demographic and Health Survey data was used. The data set was a nationally representative data set with a probability sample of 12000 women aged 15-49 taking part in it. Analysis for this study was based on 2373 female adolescent respondents aged 15-19. The association between individual and family background characteristics and risky sexual behavioural choices was examined. Crucial variables were extracted and fitted to logistic regression models. The study found that 47% of the female adolescents were sexually active. Of these, only 15% used a condom at the last sexual encounter despite the fact that 78% had a high degree of knowledge concerning HIV and condom use. South African adolescents are thus engaging in risky sexual behaviour. The family household structures in which adolescents reside was found to be associated with risky sexual behavioural choices. Sexual activity is strongly associated with socioeconomic status of the family. Condom use and HIV & contraceptive (condom) knowledge was found to be less strongly associated with the socio-economic (financial) status of the family but rather the social processes and relationships within the family are speculated to have a greater effect. The need for a more in-depth analysis with reference to family processes and relationships is recommended in order to properly understand the familial effect on sexual behavioural choices. The findings from this study have implications for reproductive health and reproductive rights policies. Appropriate national strategies are needed to reduce risky sexual practices and thus ensure lower morbidity and mortality among South African youth.

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between four personality styles and two important indications of HIV risk behavior, at intake and 3-month follow-up, among a sample of adolescents participating in court-mandated substance abuse treatment in conjunction with an HIV prevention intervention. This study involved a secondary analysis of data from a NIDA funded project (1R01DA011875-01, R. Malow, PI). Predictor variables included levels of antisocial (unruly), dependent(submissive), avoidant (inhibited), and borderline (borderline tendency) personality styles drawn from scales of the Million Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI). Criterion variables included number of sexual partners and percentage of sex acts unprotected, derived from the Risk Behavior Assessment (RBA). A series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test study hypotheses. Analyses controlled for age, ethnicity, education, gender, intervention status, the three personality variables not central to the hypothesis being tested, and baseline values of sexual risk behavior, when relevant. Results from the multiple regression analyses failed to support study hypotheses,indicating that adolescent personality styles were not important predictors of HIV risk behavior. Results are discussed within the context of the relevant literature. Study limitations and recommendations for future research are noted.