Inculcating Safe Sex Attitudes in South African Adolescents: A Directive for the Government's Anti-HIV/AIDS Policy

Abstract

South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. Much blame for this has been laid on the apathy of the South African government and the cultural traits of South Africans. AIDS prevention research calls for early childhood education to raise awareness of the causes, dangers, and prevention of HIV/AIDS. This study involved surveys among a select sample of South African adolescents to determine their sexual attitudes before and after a cognitive-behavioral intervention. Overall, the results did not make a significant difference in their attitudes, suggesting pre-adolescent sex education might prove to be a more useful tool in anti-HIV/AIDS education. Risky sexual behavior, under the influence of alcohol, also serves as a warning to educate young consumers of alcohol.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Umerah-Udezulu

, Resensitizing African Health Care and Policy Practitioners: The Gendered Nature of AIDS Epidemics in Africa, JENDA, A Journal of Culture of African Women Studies, 1: 2, p. 16, 2001.

United Nations, An Overview of the AIDS Epidemic [document on the Internet], June 2001. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from: http://wwwupdate.un.org/ga/aids/ungassfactsheets/html/fsoverview_en.htm

Dugger

, Study Cites Toll of AIDS Policy in South Africa, The New York Times, p. A1, November 26, 2008.

Dugger

, South Africa Rejects Use of AIDS Drug for Women, The New York Times, p. A11, July 14, 2004.

Mbali

, AIDS Discourses and the South African State: Government Denialism and Post-Apartheid AIDS Policy-Making, Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa, 54, p. 117, 2004.

Stadler

, Looking at LoveLife the First Year: Summaries of Monitoring and Evaluation, September 1999-September 2000, Bertsham, South Africa: Reproductive Health Research Unit, Baragwanatah Hospital, n.d.

Anderson

K. G.

Beutel

A. M.

Maughan-Brown

, HIV/AIDS Risk Perceptions and First Sexual Intercourse Among Youth in Cape Town, South Africa, June 2007, University of Cape Town, Centre for Social Science Research: AIDS and Society Research Unit, CSSR Working Paper No. 196.

USA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cognitive Behavioral STD/HIV Risk-Reduction, 2009.

UCLA Academic Technology Services, Los Angeles, CA: Statistical Analyses Using SPSS, c2000–2004. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from: http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/sas/whatstat/whatstat.htm

10.

LoveLife How Households Cope with the Impact of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: A Survey of Households Affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa. October 2002. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from: http://www.kff.org/southafrica/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=14027

11.

Hendriksen

E. S.

Pettifor

Lee

S. J.

Coates

T. J.

Rees

H. V.

, Predictors of Condom Use among Young Adults in South Africa: The Reproductive Health and HIV Research Unit National Youth Survey, American Journal of Public Health, 97: 7, pp. 1241–1248, July 2007. Epub 2007 May 30.

12.

Selikow

T-A.

Ahmed

Flisher

A. J.

Mathews

Mukoma

, I Am Not “Umqwayito”: A Qualitative Study of Peer Pressure and Sexual Risk Behavior among Young Adolescents in Cape Town, South Africa, Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 37(Suppl 2), pp. 107–112, June 2009.

13.

WHO Alcohol Use and Sexual Risk Behavior: A Cross-Cultural Study in Eight Countries. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from: http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/alcohol_sexual_risk_crosscultural.pdf

14.

Tulane University, Transitions to Adulthood in the Context of AIDS in South Africa: The Impact of Exposure to Life Skills Education on Adolescent Knowledge, Skills, and Behavior. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from: http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/horizons/lfsklsfnl.pdf

15.

Kluge

, HIV/AIDS Prevention: The Role of the General Practitioner in Sex Education for Adolescents, SA Family Practice, 48: 1, pp. 20–22, 2006.