Gender and the Effects of an Economic Empowerment Program on Attitudes Toward Sexual Risk-taking Among AIDS-orphaned Adolescent Youth in Uganda

Overview

Journal J Adolesc Health

Publisher Elsevier

Specialty Pediatrics

Date 2010 Mar 24

PMID 20307827

Citations 58

Authors

Fred M Ssewamala

Leyla Ismayilova

Mary McKay

Elizabeth Sperber

William Bannon Jr

Stacey Alicea

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: This article examines gender differences in attitudes toward sexual risk-taking behaviors of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-orphaned youth participating in a randomized control trial testing an economic empowerment intervention in rural Uganda.

Methods: Adolescents (average age 13.7 years) who had lost one or both parents to AIDS from 15 comparable schools were randomly assigned to either an experimental (n=135) or a control condition (n=142). Adolescents in the experimental condition, in addition to usual care, also received support and incentives to save money toward secondary education.

Results: Findings indicate that although adolescent boys and girls within the experimental condition saved comparable amounts, the intervention appears to have benefited girls, in regard to the attitudes toward sexual risk-taking behavior, in a different way and to a lesser extent than boys.

Conclusions: Future research should investigate the possibility that adolescent girls might be able to develop equally large improvements in protective attitudes toward sexual risk taking through additional components that address gendered social norms.

Citing Articles

Family Factors and Gender Norms as Protective Factors Against Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors Among Adolescent Girls in Southern Uganda.

Nabunya P, Byansi W, Muwanga J, Bahar O, Namuwonge F, Ssentumbwe V Glob Soc Welf. 2024; 11(2):111-121.

PMID: 38859819 PMC: 11164544. DOI: 10.1007/s40609-022-00237-8.

Costing of a Combination Intervention (Kyaterekera) Addressing Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors among Vulnerable Women in Southern Uganda.

Tozan Y, Kiyingi J, Kim S, Nabayinda J, Namuwonge F, Nsubuga E Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2024; 110(5):1046-1056.

PMID: 38579695 PMC: 11066365. DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.23-0485.

Systematic review of cash plus or bundled interventions targeting adolescents in Africa to reduce HIV risk.

Rogers K, Le Kirkegaard R, Wamoyi J, Grooms K, Essajee S, Palermo T BMC Public Health. 2024; 24(1):239.

PMID: 38245689 PMC: 10799364. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-17565-9.

Mobile Phone Technology for Preventing HIV and Related Youth Health Problems, Sexual Health, Mental Health, and Substance Use Problems in Southwest Uganda (Youth Health SMS): Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Kreniske P, Namuyaba O, Kasumba R, Namatovu P, Ssewamala F, Wingood G JMIR Res Protoc. 2023; 12:e49352.

PMID: 38113102 PMC: 10762611. DOI: 10.2196/49352.

Peer Pressure and Risk-Taking Behaviors Among Adolescent Girls in a Region Impacted by HIV/AIDS in Southwestern Uganda.

Namuwonge F, Kizito S, Ssentumbwe V, Kabarambi A, Magorokosho N, Nabunya P J Adolesc Health. 2023; 74(1):130-139.

PMID: 37804302 PMC: 10841615. DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.08.006.

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