YouthNet is examing three aspects of the context of sexual reproductive health interventions.
One study focuses on faithfulness and partner reduction, specifically understanding how to develop and convey messages about this neglected component of "ABC." The information, being developed in Tanzania, will be useful for promoting behavior change (especially A and B) in the countries where YouthNet has concentrated projects, Tanzania and Nambia, as well as in other settings and in media campaigns.
Another important area is the context for early sexual debut and sexual coercion and how these relate to sexual risk taking and unintended pregnancy. Studies are underway in Jamaica and Uganda.
Transactional sex among young people and its relationship to HIV risk is a third research area, with a study planned/underway in Haiti.
Anecdotal program evidence indicates that young people from different cultures have different perceptions about what it means to be faithful and reduce the number of partners. Programs promoting "faithfulness and partner reduction" as a means of HIV prevention must also address the issue of preventing unintended pregnancy. Young adults who commit themselves to a single partner may believe that condoms are unnecessary, but if they do not desire children right away, there is still a need for contraceptive information and services. Formative research is needed to address the gaps in young people's understanding of pregnancy prevention in the context of the "be faithful" message, and what barriers they perceive to being faithful and/or using contraception while being faithful.
YouthNet is conducting this study in two sites in Tanzania, where the program focuses on A (abstinence) and B (faithfulness) messages. Focus group discussions are being conducted with young people and adults to determine how the "be faithful" message is currently understood and practiced within the Tanzanian context, young people's perceptions of the need for continued condom use when in a faithful relationship, and their beliefs about the need for contraception with or without condoms for the prevention of unwanted pregnancy. Results of this research will then be used to create messages for local programs.
Through this study:
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Evidence related to cultural understandings of the "be faithful" messages and potential barriers to their practice for young people will be increased.
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Evidence concerning the need for integrating pregnancy prevention messages among young people who choose monogamy will be increased.
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Pregnancy and HIV prevention messages relevant to those choosing to be faithful will be developed based on research results and incorporated into existing programs.
For more information on youth and abstinence, see:
1. YouthLens 8. Abstinence and Delayed Sexual Initiation
2. Abstinence and Delayed Sexual Initiation for Youth
Study: Jamaica and Uganda: A Comparison of Early Sexual Debut, Sexual Violence, and Sexual Risk-Taking among Pregnant Adolescents and Their Peers
This study will increase understanding of contextual factors related to early sexual debut and sexual coercion so that policymakers, program managers, and youth advocates will have information relevant to RH programming for youth. It will also examine relationships between early sexual debut/sexual coercion and risk-taking behaviors and unintended pregnancy among young women. This study is being implemented in two phases. In Phase 1, researchers are conducting a qualitative study in Jamaica and Uganda using both focus group discussions and sequential in-depth interviews with pregnant and never-pregnant young women 17 years old or younger. Participants will be asked about the context of early sexual debut, examining how it was related to sexual coercion. Responses from pregnant and never pregnant girls will be compared to see whether or not there are differences in their experiences. Findings from Phase 1 are being used to design data collection instruments for a Phase 2 epidemiological study in Jamaica in which the relationships among early sexual debut, sexual coercion, and unintended pregnancy can be tested statistically.
Through this study:
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Policymakers, program managers, and young people will better understand the link between early sexual debut, sexual violence, and sexual risk-taking among pregnant adolescents and their peers.
Some young women view sex as one of the few bargaining tools available to them. Adolescent girls' first sexual partners maybe much older than themselves, reducing girls' abilities to refuse sex or negotiate safe sex practices. Finally there is some evidence that adolescents, particularly those who work as domestic servants or in the informal sector, may face sexual violence from employers or family members. Despite this information, few studies have been conducted to examine the context in which girls and young women have sexual relations.
For this study, in-depth interviews will be conducted with 30 sexually active adolescents (10 girls unemployed and in school; 10 girls employed and not in school; and five girls and five boys who are street children). Interviews will explore the following topics: home life, aspirations for the future, social life, sexual life, and reproductive health knowledge. Study participants will be administered a structured survey of sexual behaviors including: number and types of sexual partners, kinds of sexual behaviors with different partners, and reasons for sex (including types of monetary or in-kind remuneration). Finally, one to two sexual partners listed in the survey will be recruited (through the primary study participant), when feasible. Sexual partners will participate in an in-depth interview and survey of sexual behavior, covering topics as described above.
Through this study:
