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Self-Esteem as an Indicator of Transactional Sex Among Young Women in Rural South Africa (HPTN 068)

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Abstract

Transactional sex (TS) has been shown to contribute to the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Previous research has yet to identify psychosocial factors that make young women vulnerable to engaging in TS. This analysis examined the association between self-esteem and TS among young women in rural South Africa. A post hoc analysis of post-intervention survey data from HPTN 068 was conducted. Log-binomial regression was used to compute a prevalence ratio measure of association. Among 1942 young women, the prevalence of TS among those with lower self-esteem was 4.7 times the prevalence of TS among those with higher self-esteem (p < 0.001). Findings provide support for the association between lower self-esteem and TS in this context and may inform intervention development.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Award Numbers UM1AI068619 (HPTN Leadership and Operations Center), UM1AI068617 (HPTN Statistical and Data Management Center), and UM1AI068613 (HPTN Laboratory Center) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health. This work was also supported by NIMH R01 (R01MH087118) and the Carolina Population Center and its NIH Center Grant (P2CHD050924). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, 2101 McGavran-Greenberg Hall, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7435, USA

    Danielle Giovenco & Audrey Pettifor

  2. MRC/Wits Rural, Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), Parktown, South Africa

    Kathleen Kahn, Catherine MacPhail & Ryan Wagner

  3. Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    James P. Hughes

  4. School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

    Catherine MacPhail

Authors
  1. Danielle Giovenco
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  2. Kathleen Kahn
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  3. James P. Hughes
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  4. Catherine MacPhail
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  5. Ryan Wagner
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  6. Audrey Pettifor
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Correspondence to Danielle Giovenco.

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Giovenco, D., Kahn, K., Hughes, J.P. et al. Self-Esteem as an Indicator of Transactional Sex Among Young Women in Rural South Africa (HPTN 068). AIDS Behav 24, 823–826 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02698-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02698-z

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