Gender role attitudes and sexual risk among adolescents in South Africa

Adolescents remain the most critical group to target for reducing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, as most infections occur during this period. However, given that the rates of HIV infection continue to rise, South African youth would appear to be unable to protect themselves as well as they should. Gender role attitudes have been implicated in adolescent boys having multiple partners and inconsistent condom use. We examined gender role attitudes among schoolgoing adolescents in a South African township. While partial correlations showed that male gender role attitudes were related to positive condom attitudes, positive attitudes to waiting for sex, peer pressure to have sex, condom self efficacy and intention to use condoms, the effect of this mediational variable was indirect rather than direct. Logistic regression revealed mediating effects of traditional gender roles attitudes for girls in relation to last condom use but not for condom attitudes, condom self- efficacy or negotiation. The complexity of the relationship of gender role attitudes to sexual risk indicates needs to take account of the multiple dimensions of gender role attitudes.