TY - JOUR
T1 - Attitudinal and behavioral characteristics predict high risk sexual activity in rural Tanzanian youth
AU - Aichele, Stephen R.
AU - Mulder, Monique Borgerhoff
AU - James, Susan
AU - Grimm, Kevin
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank USAID (US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR), the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and the Institute on the Environment (University of Minnesota), Kari Hartwig for support from the Whole Village Project, the research teams at Savannas Forever Tanzania for fieldwork, and Andrew Ferdinands for preparation of the map. We also thank Dr. Sayoki Mfinanga, Dr. Bernard Ngowi and Dr. Esther Ngadaya from the National Institute for Medical Research who helped design the overall research study on HIV/AIDs in rural Tanzania, Tom Eckstein and Jon Salerno for analytical assistance earlier in the project, Craig Packer for general SFTZ support, and Mike Gehron for the original idea.
PY - 2014/6/13
Y1 - 2014/6/13
N2 - The incidence of HIV infection in rural African youth remains high despite widespread knowledge of the disease within the region and increasing funds allocated to programs aimed at its prevention and treatment. This suggests that program efficacy requires a more nuanced understanding of the profiles of the most at-risk individuals. To evaluate the explanatory power of novel psychographic variables in relation to high-risk sexual behaviors, we conducted a survey to assess the effects of psychographic factors, both behavioral and attitudinal, controlling for standard predictors in 546 youth (12-26 years of age) across 8 villages in northern Tanzania. Indicators of high-risk sexual behavior included HIV testing, sexual history (i.e., virgin/non-virgin), age of first sexual activity, condom use, and number of lifetime sexual partners. Predictors in the statistical models included standard demographic variables, patterns of media consumption, HIV awareness, and six new psychographic features identified via factor analyses: personal vanity, family-building values, ambition for higher education, town recreation, perceived parental strictness, and spending preferences. In a series of hierarchical regression analyses, we find that models including psychographic factors contribute significant additional explanatory information when compared to models including only demographic and other conventional predictors. We propose that the psychographic approach used here, in so far as it identifies individual characteristics, aspirations, aspects of personal life style and spending preferences, can be used to target appropriate communities of youth within villages for leading and receiving outreach, and to build communities of like-minded youth who support new patterns of sexual behavior.
AB - The incidence of HIV infection in rural African youth remains high despite widespread knowledge of the disease within the region and increasing funds allocated to programs aimed at its prevention and treatment. This suggests that program efficacy requires a more nuanced understanding of the profiles of the most at-risk individuals. To evaluate the explanatory power of novel psychographic variables in relation to high-risk sexual behaviors, we conducted a survey to assess the effects of psychographic factors, both behavioral and attitudinal, controlling for standard predictors in 546 youth (12-26 years of age) across 8 villages in northern Tanzania. Indicators of high-risk sexual behavior included HIV testing, sexual history (i.e., virgin/non-virgin), age of first sexual activity, condom use, and number of lifetime sexual partners. Predictors in the statistical models included standard demographic variables, patterns of media consumption, HIV awareness, and six new psychographic features identified via factor analyses: personal vanity, family-building values, ambition for higher education, town recreation, perceived parental strictness, and spending preferences. In a series of hierarchical regression analyses, we find that models including psychographic factors contribute significant additional explanatory information when compared to models including only demographic and other conventional predictors. We propose that the psychographic approach used here, in so far as it identifies individual characteristics, aspirations, aspects of personal life style and spending preferences, can be used to target appropriate communities of youth within villages for leading and receiving outreach, and to build communities of like-minded youth who support new patterns of sexual behavior.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84902762857&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84902762857&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0099987
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0099987
M3 - Article
C2 - 24927421
AN - SCOPUS:84902762857
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 9
JO - PloS one
JF - PloS one
IS - 6
M1 - e99987
ER -