Young People In South Africa Research Articles

P1-S6.04 Education and lifetime risk of HIV infection in Manicaland, Zimbabwe

BackgroundThere is evidence that attendance at school is protective against HIV among young people in South Africa. Further work is required to investigate the effect of education on the life-time...

A Tale of Two Countries: Rethinking Sexual Risk for HIV Among Young People in South Africa and the United States

To compare the sexual behaviors of young people in South Africa (SA) and the United States (US) with the aim to better understand the potential role of sexual behavior in HIV transmission in these two countries that have strikingly different HIV epidemics. Nationally representative, population-based surveys of young people aged 18-24 years from SA (n = 7,548) and the US (n = 13,451) were used for the present study. The prevalence of HIV was 10.2% in SA and <1% in the US. Young women and men in the US reported an earlier age of first sex than those in SA (mean age of coital debut for women: US [16.5], SA [17.4]; for men: US [16.4], SA [16.7]). The median number of lifetime partners is higher in the US than in SA: women: US (4), SA (2); men: US (4), SA (3). The use of condom at last sex is reported to be lower in the US than in SA: women: US (36.1%), SA (45.4%); men: US (48%), SA (58%). On average, young women in SA report greater age differences with their sex partners than young women in the US. Young people in the US report riskier sexual behaviors than young people in SA, despite the much higher prevalence of HIV infection in SA. Factors above and beyond sexual behavior likely play a key role in the ongoing transmission of HIV in South African youth, and thus should be urgently uncovered to develop maximally effective prevention strategies.

A Tale of Two Countries: Rethinking Sexual Risk for HIV Among Young People in South Africa and the United States

A Tale of Two Countries: Rethinking Sexual Risk for HIV Among Young People in South Africa and the United States

The effects of gender and socioeconomic status on youth sexual-risknorms: evidence from a poor urban community in South Africa

HIV and AIDS remains one of the most serious problems facing youths in many sub-Saharan African countries. Among young people in South Africa, gender is linked with a number of HIV-risk behaviours and outcomes. The literature suggests that factors such as socioeconomic status, intimate partner violence, and several psychosocial factors contribute to gendered differences in sexual behaviour among youths in South Africa. However, the existing body of literature scarcely addresses the interaction between gender, confounding factors (particularly peer norms) and sexual behaviour outcomes. This study uses a survey design (n = 809) to examine how gender and socioeconomic status moderate the effects of norms and attitudes on higher-risk sexual behaviours among secondary school learners in a low-income community in South Africa. The findings suggest that gender interacts significantly with peer norms to predict sexual behaviour. Peer norms and the experience of intimate partner violence were significantly associated with sexual risk behaviour among girls participating in the study. The article discusses both the wider implications of these findings and the implications for school-based and peer-facilitated HIV interventions.

Dilemmas and tensions facing a faith-based organisation promoting HIVprevention among young people in South Africa

Faith-based organisations (FBOs) are receiving growing attention for their roles in addressing HIV and AIDS in southern Africa. These roles, however, are not without philosophical challenges. Yet, to date, most references to the successes or limitations of FBOs have remained the domain of theoretical and, often, ideological debate. In this context, discussions about the roles of faith and FBOs in responding to HIV and AIDS often evoke extreme positions—either advocating for or critiquing their involvement. In place of this there is a need for empirical evidence and analyses that shed light on both the challenges and opportunities of faith-based HIV-prevention programming. This article presents a critical sociological analysis of the complexities confronting one FBO in its effort to deliver an abstinence-focused HIV-prevention programme to school-going adolescents in a poor peri-urban area of South Africa. As one aspect of a larger mixed-methods evaluation, this analysis is based on 11 focus group discussions, variously held with parents, teachers, learners and programme facilitators, in an effort to determine how and why the participants perceived the programme to work. We present and analyse four sources of tension appearing within the data which relate to the programme's faith-based orientation: a) enthusiasm for sexual abstinence despite awareness of the structural constraints; b) a dichotomous framing of behaviours (i.e. good versus bad); c) mixed messages about condoms; and d) administering faith-based programming within secular public schools. Through this analysis we aim to identify opportunities and challenges for faith-based HIV-prevention efforts more broadly. We argue that any assessment of faith-based HIV-prevention programming ought to respect and reflect its complexity as well as the complexity of the context within which it operates.

Research on/as violence: reflections on injurious moments in research with friendship groups

This article addresses the issue of harm in the research process. While researchers seek to conduct research that minimises harm, this paper argues that approaches adopted often create new forms of harm. This proposition is examined through drawing on Bourdieu’s ideas about symbolic violence and poststructural theories of identity, to critically reflect on three moments of harm that occurred in research on violence with groups of young people in South Africa and the UK. The paper traces ways in which the research topic, research relationship and dynamics of friendship groups produced physical, emotional and symbolic violence, and asks whether the research was itself an act of violation. Yet sometimes there is value in the conflicts that happen. Conflicts in the research setting may disrupt, destabilise and contest violence, and perhaps the most ethical research position may not be to try to eradicate harm, but to increase these destabilising moments.

The possible value of a gap year: A case study

The taking of a ‘gap year’, immediately after completing their secondary school education, to explore life before embarking on formal studies or starting their career, is a growing phenomenon among young people in South Africa. This research study explores the experiences of three young people who engaged in a gap year and focuses on the influence that gap year had on their individual career decision-making process.A case study design was used and the data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews, as well as lifelines and collages the participants created for the purpose. Finally, the three participants, who were consulted throughout the research process, also participated in the final analysis of the data. The outcome of this study revealed that thechief value of the gap year might be found in the personal growth it facilitated and the benefit of extra time that the young people have at their disposal before finalising their career decision-making process.

Career counselling in the 21st century: South African institutions of higher education at the crossroads

The current state of career counselling1 in South African institutions of higher education in the 21st century is explored in this article in an attempt to locate current work in the field of career counselling in South Africa in the light of global trends (academic and economic) and in terms of local history and current economic climate. The articleis based largely on an examination of factors that have contributed collectively and individually to the current state of affairs in career counselling in South Africa (with particular emphasis on institutions of higher education). The key aim is to create a deeper understanding of what can be done to help millions of young people in SouthAfrica (including those who are currently excluded from sought-after fields of study and training institutions) access those opportunities that are available and, in the process, to promote equity, access and redress. Some salient aspects of 21st century career counselling, including the history of career counselling in South Africa and elsewhere, the need for a changed approach to career counselling at all levels, and the interplay between the different waves in psychology are explicated. Helping models in career counselling, the narrative approach, the global economy and the impact of global developments on career counselling are considered. It is endeavoured to deconstructand explain the impact of these factors on what is currently happening in South Africa and determine whether South Africa has kept abreast of contemporary developments historically, epistemologically and at a more practical level.

Siamon Gordon on the challenges of retirement

Siamon Gordon on the challenges of retirement

Prevalence and Correlates of Concurrent Sexual Partnerships Among Young People in South Africa

Concurrent sexual partnerships are an important behavioral driver of HIV epidemics. This analysis examines the prevalence and correlates of concurrency among young adults in the Cape Metropolitan Area, South Africa. 13% reported concurrency during their last sexual partnership with variability by sex and race. Concurrency was associated with race, knowledge of a partner's infidelity, and other risky sexual behaviors.

‘We Do Not Cook, We Only Assist Them’: Constructions of Hegemonic Masculinity Through Gendered Activity

This article discusses how the gendering of activity by boys coincides with, contests or recreates constructions of hegemonic masculinity in the context of South Africa. The study used a qualitative methodology including a series of three focus groups with 14–16 year-old boys across six different schools in the Western Cape, South Africa. A discursive analysis in which particular attention was paid to how participants construct their masculinity in relation to what they may or may not do as boys/men was conducted. The findings foreground how articulations of masculinity by boys are characterised by efforts to gender activity in the process of, amongst other things, counter blushing—meaning not to be regarded as girl-like or a moffie, or other derogatory notions that do not fit with hegemonic masculinity in a particular context. However, resistances and alternative views on what boys/men can and cannot do also emerged, highlighting the contested nature of current constructions of masculinity among young people in South Africa.

Correlates of intention to use condoms among Sub-Saharan African youth: The applicability of the theory of planned behaviour

To test the applicability of an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour for the study of condom use intentions among large samples of young people in South Africa and Tanzania. Baseline data of a randomized controlled trial of school-based HIV/AIDS prevention programmes were used. The setting comprised secondary schools in the regions of Cape Town, Polokwane and Dar es Salaam. Participants were 15,782 secondary school students. The main measures were scales for intentions, knowledge, risk perceptions, attitudes, perceived social norms and perceived self-efficacy regarding condom use. Seven variables accounted for 77% of the variance in intentions to use condoms: attitudes (beta = 0.17), injunctive norms (beta = 0.27), self-efficacy (beta = 0.41), gender (lower condom use intentions among females), being a student at the Dar es Salaam site (lower scores than students in Cape Town and Polokwane), socioeconomic status (higher intentions with higher status), and access to condoms (higher intentions with higher access). Our results are comparable to those of studies conducted in Europe and the USA. Social cognition models such as the theory of planned behaviour are applicable in understanding the correlates of condom use intentions in African contexts.

I am not ``umqwayito'': A qualitative study of peer pressure and sexual risk behaviour among young adolescents in Cape Town, South Africa

Young people in South Africa are susceptible to HIV infection. They are vulnerable to peer pressure to have sex, but little is known about how peer pressure operates. The aim of the study was to understand how negative peer pressure increases high risk sexual behaviour among young adolescents in Cape Town, South Africa. Qualitative research methods were used. Eight focus groups were conducted with young people between the ages of 13 and 14 years. Peer pressure among both boys and girls undermines healthy social norms and HIV prevention messages to abstain, be faithful, use a condom and delay sexual debut. HIV prevention projects need to engage with peer pressure with the aim of changing harmful social norms into healthy norms. Increased communication with adults about sex is one way to decrease the impact of negative peer pressure. Peer education is a further mechanism by which trained peers can role model healthy social norms and challenge a peer culture that promotes high risk sexual behaviour. Successful HIV prevention interventions need to engage with the disconnect between educational messages and social messages and to exploit the gaps between awareness, decision making, norms, intentions and actions as spaces for positive interventions.

Drugs, hopes and dreams: appreciative inquiry with marginalized young people using drugs and alcohol

Drugs and alcohol misuse in young people is a major public health problem with substantial levels of morbidity and mortality. Social, economic and cultural factors play a major part in the initiation and maintenance of substance misuse in young people. Many young people who misuse drugs have multiple antecedent and co‐occurring mental health problems, unrecognized learning difficulties, family difficulties and deeply entrenched social problems. Given the heterogeneity of the patterns of substance misuse in these young people, and the potential for persistence of serious problems into their adult lives, a range of interventions should be developed to address the risk factors across biological, psychological and social domains. Family/systemic interventions provide the best outcomes for young people with substance misuse, though even the most intensive forms of systemic therapies may fall short of producing enduring changes, especially for marginalized young people and communities. Appreciative inquiry (AI) is one of the most significant innovations in action research in the past decade and a method of producing long‐lasting changes to the larger social system. AI is an attempt to generate a collective image of a new and better future by exploring the best of what is and has been. We describe an anecdotal experience of using AI in producing long‐lasting changes in a group of marginalized young people in South Africa, who were engaged in drug and alcohol misuse and antisocial behaviour. The principles and practice of AI are described in detail, followed by a discussion of the implications of these findings for a UK population.

HIV and Sexual Behavior Among Young People: The South African Paradox

HIV and Sexual Behavior Among Young People: The South African Paradox

Youth and Well-Being: A South African Case Study

This paper was a result of an analysis from various data sources with a purpose to develop a better understanding of the level of socio-economic well being of young people in South Africa. Such understanding is aimed at enabling government to plan and implement well-structured and integrated development programmes that are relevant to the socio-economic needs of the youth and that will enable them to fully participate in all aspects of society. Two main sources of data were used for this analysis. The first is the Status of the Youth (SYR) data set. The second data set used in this study is the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) which is a national representative sample of 5,000 households. The study shows that the quality of life among majority of young people remains low, reflecting the historical racial cleavages of South African society. This is mainly due to the emergence of the AIDS pandemic in South Africa, and the fact that many young people remain outside the labour market.

Orphanhood and Completion of Compulsory School Education Among Young People in South Africa: Findings From a National Representative Survey

We examined the association of orphanhood and completion of compulsory school education among young people in South Africa. In South Africa, school attendance is compulsory through grade 9, which should be completed before age 16. However, family and social factors such as orphanhood and poverty can hinder educational attainment. Participants were 10,452 16–24‐year‐olds who completed a South African national representative household survey. Overall, 23% had not completed compulsory school levels. In univariate analyses, school completion was lower among those who had experienced orphanhood during school‐age years, males, and those who reported household poverty. In multivariate analyses controlling for household poverty, females who had experienced maternal or paternal orphanhood were less likely to have completed school; orphanhood was not independently associated with males' school completion. Findings highlight the need for evidence‐informed policies to address the education and social welfare needs of orphans and vulnerable youth, particularly females, in South Africa.

Prevalence of Parental Death Among Young People in South Africa and Risk for HIV Infection

This study estimated the prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics of young people in South Africa who have experienced parental death and examined associations between parental death and young people's HIV status and sexual behaviors. Data were from a cross-sectional nationally representative household survey of 11,904 15- to 24-year-old South Africans. Surveys included items on sexual behavior and family composition, and oral fluid samples were collected to test for HIV status. The prevalence of parental death was 27.3% overall: 22.4% reported a father deceased, 7.9% reported a mother deceased, and 3.0% reported both parents deceased. Parental death was disproportionately associated with black ethnicity, impoverished household living conditions, lack of an adult guardian in the home, and not completing compulsory education levels. Controlling for sociodemographic factors, parental death among female participants was significantly associated with HIV-positive status (odds ratio [OR] = 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08 to 1.44), ever having had oral sex (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.49), ever having had vaginal sex (OR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.19 to 1.60), and having more than 1 sex partner during the past year (OR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.64). Among male participants, parental death was significantly associated with ever having had vaginal sex (OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.36) and having unprotected sex at the last sexual episode (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.42). More than one quarter of young South Africans have experienced parental death. Death of a parent is associated with young female South Africans' HIV status and sexual behaviors among young female and male South Africans. HIV prevention interventions are necessary to address the specific needs of young South Africans who have experienced parental death.

AIDS Stigma, Sexual Moralities and the Policing of Women and Youth in South Africa

HIV/AIDS stigma is a key driver of the epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, undermining HIV-prevention and the care and treatment of people with HIV/AIDS (Ogden and Nyblade, 2005). In this dialogue piece, we seek to examine how the vicious stigmatization of people with HIV/AIDS is intertwined with the social construction of sexual moralities serving to perpetuate the social exclusion of women and young people in South Africa. We do this through highlighting our research into community responses to HIV/AIDS in two communities (one peri-urban and one rural) in Kwa-Zulu Natal province. We conclude by discussing the ongoing complexities of our efforts to implement these findings through our involvement in a community-led HIV/AIDS intervention in our rural research community.

Safe sex and constructions of young male sexuality in one semi-rural Western Cape community

Young people in South Africa are at risk of unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. In efforts to address these reproductive health problems, the dominant focus so far has been on young women. There is an increasing awareness that males need to be involved at all levels of reproductive health, and the importance of researching young men's sexuality has been emphasised. Sexuality researchers also argue for localised understandings of sexuality, because sexuality and sexual behaviour are likely to have different meanings for adolescents living in different communities. This article reports on the qualitative findings of a larger study that aimed to explore the sexuality of young heterosexual males living in a Coloured1, semi-rural community in the Western Cape. The focus was on investigating adolescent men's constructions of their own sexuality and the implications for safe sexual behaviour. Social construc-tionist grounded theory was used to analyse interviews conducted with 7 young men between the ages of 16 and 18. It was found that these young men constructed their sexuality as being driven by physiological and social forces. It is argued that such a construction limits their ability to take responsibility for their own and their partners' reproductive health.