Amsterdam 2015
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| Abstract #2050 - Teen spirit: Adolescents and HIV | ||||
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Session: 46.5: Teen spirit: Adolescents and HIV (Parallel) on Friday @ 09.00-10.30 in C104 Chaired by Tonya Thurman, John Miller Authors: Presenting Author: Prof. Dr. Daniel Gredig - University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Switzerland |
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| Additional Authors: | ||||
| Aim: Costa Rica is one of those countries in the global south that have responded only reluctantly to the challenges presented by HIV/AIDS. Most public efforts in the country have focused on the treatment, care, support and social integration of people living with HIV. Prevention has not taken center stage and knowledge about HIV-protective behavior among the relevant population (adolescents and young adults) is scarce. Against this background, this project aimed to establish a basis for prevention offers by investigating the protective behaviors of young adults and the underlying dynamics. The guiding research questions was: Which are the predictors of condom use by women and men aged 18–24 in Costa Rica when having sex with casual partners. The theoretical framework was drawn from an extended version of the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) Model developed in Europe. Besides the socio-cognitive variables comprised by the original IMB Model, this extended version also includes the personal HIV protection strategy adopted, as well as cultural, social and economic resources. The extended model also considers inhibitors of condom use related to the sex partner or the situation in which sex was engaged in. | ||||
| Method / Issue: Using geographical units developed by the national census, a stratified random sample of young women and men aged 18–24 living in Costa Rica was drawn. Data were collected using standardized personal interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The IMB model was tested by means of structural equation modelling using the scale-free least square method. | ||||
| Results / Comments: The sample of 905 young adults aged 18–24 comprised 484 women und 419 men, of which 349 reported having had sex with a casual partner in the last six months. Of the 314 respondents who had vaginal sex, 26.4% reported using a condom each time whereas 6.4% reported never using a condom. Analysis showed that subjects’ behavioral skills (condom self-efficacy), knowledge, and attitudes were predictors of condom use. Further condom use was determined by a personal HIV protection strategy relying on condoms and by economic resources. Determining inhibitors were trusting one’s partner, not having the condom to hand during the sex act, and the use of alcohol or recreational drugs before or during sex. Behavioral skills were also predicted by knowledge and attitudes, and further by the subjective norm and perceived susceptibility. These socio-cognitive variables in turn were determined by cultural and social resources such as the educational level or peer incentives. | ||||
| Discussion: The HIV protective behavior of young adults in Costa Rica turned out to be inconsistent. The extended IMB model proved capable of explaining condom use. However, some of the hypothesized inhibitors of condom use were falsified. But most important, the influence of cultural, economic, and social resources was confirmed. The prominent influence of the peer group highlights the importance of information processing in the peer group. Prevention offers for young adults in Costa Rica should consider this factor. | ||||
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