Back in Kenya…Research Results: HIV Risk and Psychosocial Well-Being

Over the past four months, we have been analyzing survey data to identify ways that mental health and family interactions/support may be related to HIV risk behavior among youth in Muhuru. A paper with full results is forthcoming, but I wanted to share some of the main findings.

HIV Risk Behavior in Muhuru:
• 29.9 % of girls and 51.3 % of boys surveyed reported that they have had sex.
• Average age of first sex was 13.1 for girls and 12.2 for boys
• 82.6 % of boys and 45.2 % of girls who have had sex did not use a condom the most recent time they had sex
• 49.3 % of Boys and 23.8 % of Girls who are sexually active have had more than 1 partner in the past year

We looked at factors related to HIV risk in two ways:

First, we looked at factors related to whether a youth had ever had sex at all. The following youth were more likely to be sexually active.
• Older youth
• Boys
• Youth experiencing more symptoms of emotional problems
• Youth who believe risky behaviors are not risky and that condoms don’t work
• Boys with more social support from family and community members

Second, among sexually active youth, we looked at factors related to whether they engaged in “high risk behavior” defined as multiple partners OR not using a condom the most recent time they had sex. The following youth were more likely to have high risk behavior:
• Younger sexually active youth
• Boys
• Youth with less monitoring / supervision from their caregivers
• Youth showing more conduct problems (e.g., aggression, getting into trouble, etc.)

In sum, results suggest that mental and behavioral health problems could be risk factors for HIV risk behavior. Support and monitoring of youth by family and the community also seem to influence HIV risk. For boys, it is interesting that being sexually active is related to more social support. Perhaps boys who are more outgoing and socially skilled also have more opportunity for sexual relationships. Or perhaps sexual activity is socially reinforced for boys.

Our Community Advisory Committee in Muhuru has been reviewing these results and related literature in preparation for developing an intervention to address the above factors. I just arrived in Kenya to work with them on intervention development, so I will be blogging about our progress. Comments and thoughts are welcome!