Hope, the Household Environment, and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Young Women in Rural South Africa (HPTN 068)
Date
2018-06
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Abstract
We assessed the psychological trait of hope as an explanatory mediator in the relationship between
the home environment and sexual risk behaviors among 2533 young women in rural South Africa.
Hope mediated the relationship between average household age and sexual debut (mediated effect
= −0.003, p<.05), and between household consumption and sexual debut (mediated effect =
−0.019, p<.05). Both higher average household age (β = 0.01; 95%CI: 0.00, 0.01) and greater
household consumption (β = 0.05; 95%CI: 0.02, 0.08) were marginally associated with higher
hope. In turn, greater hope was associated with lower odds of sexual debut (aOR= 0.62; 95%CI:
0.52, 0.74). These results provide important preliminary evidence of the role of the home
environment in shaping protective psychological assets and healthy sexual behaviors. Continued
exploration of the relationship between hope and the home environment may help to explain why
young women in this context have a disproportionate risk for HIV.