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

Authors

Danielle Giovenco
Kathleen Kahn
James Hughes
Catherine L. Mac Phail, University of WollongongFollow
Ryan Wagner
Audrey Pettifor

RIS ID

139771

Publication Details

Giovenco, D., Kahn, K., Hughes, J., Mac Phail, C., Wagner, R. & Pettifor, A. (2019). Self-Esteem as an Indicator of Transactional Sex Among Young Women in Rural South Africa (HPTN 068). AIDS and Behavior,

Abstract

2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. 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.