Understanding of personal agency among youth to curtail HIV rates

Influences on decision-making about disclosure of HIV status by adolescents and young adults living with HIV in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Background: Adolescents and young adults living with HIV (AYA) are faced with the challenge of living with a life-long chronic condition. We investigated the influences on the decisions by AYA to disclose their HIV status to family, intimate partners and friends.Methods: Twenty AYA aged between 15 and 24 years were purposely selected through local community-based organisations in eThekwini municipality and uMkhanyakude district in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Virtual in-depth interviews were conducted between September 2020 to October 2021 using a topic guide focusing on HIV-status disclosure and the impact of stigma on decision-making capacity. An iterative thematic process was used for analysis.Results: Findings revealed the challenges that AYA experience for disclosure because of stigma and how this impacts their decision-making capacity. Family and friends influenced AYA in processing their discovery of their HIV status offering support needed to manage living with HIV. However, for some AYA disclosing to relatives, friends and intimate partners was difficult because of fears of rejection and recrimination. The act of disclosure was influenced by both internalised and external stigma and the type of relationships and interactions that AYA had with relatives, friends and caregivers.Conclusions: The decision to disclose is challenging for AYA because of the fear of rejection, along with internal and external stigma. The provision of support, whether from family or peers, is important. Enhancing the decision-making capacity of AYA is essential for developing their self-esteem as well as supporting future healthcare choices.

Correlates of depression among Black girls exposed to violence

Depression rates for youth remanded to juvenile detention is double that of the general population and Black girls are especially vulnerable. A dearth of literature analyzes the factors that are correlated with depression among system-involved Black girls, ages 12-17 years old. We utilized personal agency to examine the relationship between risk factors (i.e., abuse history, and fear of condom negotiation) and protective factors (i.e., condom self-efficacy, and perceived social support) that might correlate with depression among Black girls exposed to violence. Findings indicate that fear of condom negotiation, abuse history and low condom self-efficacy are correlated with depressive symptomology while self-esteem and perceived social support are protective factors that may serve as a buffer against girls' feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. The findings of this study suggest several implications for prevention and intervention efforts to reduce the depression-related risks among justice-involved Black females, including strategies that promote healing within their social support networks.

Ending the Epidemic: Assessing Sexual Health Communication, Personal Agency, and HIV Stigma among Black and Latino Youth in the U.S

Sexual health communication warrants greater attention as it may help to reduce the rates of HIV incidence among youth. A growing body of literature suggests that conversations about sexual health among Black and Latino youth may serve as a potential strategy for HIV prevention. The current study investigates whether sexual health communication-in particular, conversations about sexual health and HIV-influences Black and Latino youth's personal agency regarding their role in achieving an HIV-free generation. For this secondary data analysis, we used the National Survey of Teens and Young Adults on attitudes towards HIV/AIDS (n = 701). Participants included youth between the ages 15 and 24, and the average was 20 years. We used a multiple regression analysis to examine whether sexual health communication contributed to youth knowledge and awareness of (1) the national plan for EHE, and (2) their role in ending the epidemic". (1) knowledge and awareness of the national plan for EHE, and (2) role in ending the epidemic. The final multiple regression model was statistically significant [R2 = 0.16 F (12, 701) = 001, p < 0.001] for both outcomes. Study results found that sexual health communication was positively related to Black and Latino youth's awareness of efforts to end the HIV epidemic (EHE) and their belief that they could play a role in achieving EHE. In addition, HIV stigma influenced personal agency and whether youth were aware of efforts to achieve EHE. Our results demonstrated that openly communicating about sexual health and HIV may contribute to a sense of personal agency among Black and Latino youth. In addition, understanding whether sexual health communication contributes to a sense of personal agency among youth may inform HIV prevention efforts to achieve the goals set forth by the national EHE plan for the U.S.

Reimaging an AIDS free generation: Examining youth and young adults' personal agency and its association with HIV testing

Exploring youth and young adult's agency may be a way to increase HIV testing and help end the HIV epidemic. We used data from the National Survey of Teens and Young Adults (15-24) on HIV/AIDS (N = 1,437). Data were collected from September 21-October 1, 2012. The sample included 748 girls and 689 boys; and the mean age is 20 years (SD: 3.02). Youth and young adults completed a 40-question survey on attitudes and knowledge about HIV. Using a multivariable logistic regression analysis, study findings suggest that focusing on protective health behaviors like the role youth can play in ending the epidemic and hearing about an AIDS-free generation were both associated with an increase in HIV testing. Our study finds that enhancing the role and influence of personal agency can inform HIV prevention and intervention programs that are specific to youth.

Associations between Parent-Child Communication on Sexual Health and Drug Use and Use of Drugs during Sex among Urban Black Youth

Black youth and their families living in urban settings may experience unique stressors that contribute to underlying issues due to the environmental context. Such factors may exacerbate and promote drug use and engagement in risky sexual behaviors, unknowingly. Little is known about how family factors, peer pressure, condom use, and other related factors are associated with substance use and engaging in sexual behaviors while on drugs among urban African American youth aged 12-22 (N = 638). We used regression models to examine associations between parental bonding, parent-adolescent sexual health communication, condom use, peer pressure on substance use, and having sex while on drugs. Multivariate results indicated that parental bonding was statistically significant and associated with drug use (OR: 1.36, 95%CI: 1.36). Our study highlights that parental bonding plays a critical role in youth using drugs while living in urban environments.

An Assessment of the Role of Parental Incarceration and Substance Misuse in Suicidal Planning of African American Youth and Young Adults

Suicide rates among youth are increasing, and African American youth are becoming the most likely group to die by suicide in the USA. We utilized ecodevelopmental theory to investigate the relationship between parental incarceration and substance misuse and their association with suicidal planning in a sample of African American youth and young adults. Participants consisted of 190 African American youth and young adults living in public housing in a mid-Atlantic city in the USA who completed a youth health-risk behavior measure, and parental incarceration and substance misuse measures. Findings indicate males were significantly more likely than females to have devised a plan to die by suicide, especially if their mothers were incarcerated or their fathers had an alcohol problem. The findings of this study suggest several implications for health prevention and intervention efforts to reduce suicide-related risks among African American youth and young adults, including strategies that promote family-centered, evidence-based interventions that are culturally tailored to provide further insight into the best practices in suicide prevention.

Pathways to sexual decision making by Pentecostal church youths in Botswana

BACKGROUND

The ways church youth make sexual decisions are incompletely understood and yet important for public health interventions. This study aimed to examine personal religiosity influences on the sexual decisions by church youth from the country of Botswana, taking into account their sense of personal agency.

METHOD

Participants were 235 Botswana Pentecostal faith church youth (females = 67.2%, male = 32.8%; age range 12-23 years). They completed measures of personal religiosity, personal agency, sexual abstinence, and contraception use predisposition. We analysed the data applying Structural Equation Modelling to test five paths - personal religiosity to personal agency, personal agency to abstinence, personal religiosity to abstinence, personal agency to contraceptive use, and personal religiosity to contraceptive use.

RESULTS

Results suggest that personal religiosity influences the youth in their sexual abstinence and contraception decisions through personal agency. High personal agency, but not personal religiosity, was associated with pro-sexual abstinence, and contraception use was associated with religiosity. Personal agency augmented the likelihood of both abstinence and contraception use decisions among the older church youth and with church youth with higher levels of formal education.

CONCLUSION

Church youth likely adopt discretionary sexual behaviours over the developmental period from early to older adolescents, which would make them more receptive to public sexual health messages. Personal agency appears to be an important resource for public health interventions aimed at influencing church youth's sexual decisions.