Amsterdam 2015
Menu
AIDSImpact.com
Conference Details
Authors
International Committee
Plenary Speakers
Presenting Speakers
Programme
Sessions
Scientific Committee
Acknowledgements
| Abstract #2241 - Poster 2 | ||||
|
Session: 59.29: Poster 2 (Poster) on Tuesday in Chaired by Authors: Presenting Author: Dr Marieke Van Egmond - Jacobs University Bremen, Germany |
||||
| Additional Authors: | ||||
| Aim: To explore the role of paternal autonomy support as a predictor of girl’s healthy Sexual and Reproductive Health behaviour among marginalised girls in Malawi | ||||
| Method / Issue: The southern African country of Malawi is one of the ten poorest countries in the world with over 70% of the population living below the poverty line of 1.25$ a day. Moreover, HIV and AIDS is wide-spread with a prevalence of over 10% in the general population. At special risk of infection are teenage girls. With a child marriage prevalence of 50%, the country has one of the highest rates in the world with many girls getting married as soon as they reach puberty. Once married, only a minority of them (less than 20%) use contraception. Among non-married girls, use of contraception is even lower. For these reasons, interventions that aim to enhance the psychological empowerment and resilience of girls, for example through self-esteem and self-efficacy trainings are prevalent. Few studies however take into account the contextual factors that can contribute to healthy decision-making in the domain of sexual reproductive behaviour. As a theory of human motivation, self-determination theory (SDT) examines the social conditions that facilitate independent decision-making. It proposes that parenting styles can differ in the extent to which they are autonomy supportive and involved. Autonomy supportive parents provide their children with a rationale for the decisions that they make and provide the child with choice instead of merely providing directives without explanation. Involved parenting consists of parents expressing an interest in the child’s life. | ||||
| Results / Comments: In order to assess whether parenting styles affect girl’s Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) behaviour in Malawi, a study was conducted among 263 girls (9 -18 years old) in rural settings. The sample included both girls who were in primary school and those who had recently ped out. The study took place in 10 districts across the Central and Southern regions of the country. This within-country comparison was included since the proportion of poor and ultra-poor is even higher in the Southern region than in the Central region. Although most girls (98%) indicated that their mothers are a primary source of sexual education for them, neither maternal involvement nor autonomy supportiveness were found to have an effect on the girl’s likelihood to use contraceptives (asking for condom use). Interestingly, the parenting style of the fathers makes a significant difference. | ||||
| Discussion: Girls that are raised by autonomy supportive and involved fathers are more likely to indicate that they will request the use of a condom in future sexual encounters. In line with self-determination theory, this effect is mediated by the girls’ self-esteem. In other words, the positive effect of self-determined parenting by a father figure on SRH behaviour is due to the fact that the daughters of autonomy supportive fathers have higher levels of self-esteem. The implications of these results for both self-determination theory and applied settings such as international development projects within the sub-Saharan region will be discussed. | ||||
| Go Back | ||||