Sexual self-efficacy among adolescent men and women living in an HIV-hyper-endemic setting of South Africa

Adolescent women in South Africa face disproportionate HIV acquisition. In this context, evidence remains mixed on whether sexual self-efficacy (SSE)- one’s perceived control in decision-making regarding safe sex, predicts consistent condom use (CCU). Using cross-sectional survey data from 830 adolescent men and women aged 14-19 living in Soweto, South Africa, this thesis conducted gender-based analyses to examine determinants of high-SSE (study-alpha=0.75) and the association between high-SSE and CCU. Results revealed women have higher SSE than men. High-SSE was associated with CCU use for men, but not women. For women, high-SSE was associated with having an adult in the home, and no history of physical violence. Moreover, lower depressive symptomology among women was more predictive of CCU than SSE, indicating that gender-targeted HIV prevention interventions must move beyond individual-level determinants of behaviour to address socio-structural and relational factors influencing syndemic HIV risk among adolescent women in South Africa.