Household HIV/AIDS status and sexual debut among adolescents in Kenya
population health
25
Issue: 2
(12 - 2011)
Adolescents in households affected by HIV/AIDS may be at an increased risk of
poorer reproductive health than other adolescents due to the impoverishing
effects of AIDS in households or lack of parental guidance. In this paper, we exam-
ine the effect of parents’ HIV status on adolescent sexual and reproductive
health, focusing on early sexual debut among adolescents in Kenya. The analysis
places particular emphasis on comparisons of the relative disadvantage of differ-
ent groups of adolescents aged 15-17 years, with particular reference to those liv-
ing in households where an adult is infected with HIV. The data come from the
2003 and 2008 Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys (KDHS). The results
suggest increased vulnerability among adolescent boys and girls living in house-
holds where an adult is infected with HIV, especially when other household factors
are controlled for. On average, adolescent boys and girls living in households
where at least one adult is infected with HIV have about 50% higher odds of hav-
ing initiated sexual activity compared to their counterparts of similar age and
gender in households where no adult is HIV positive. The odds are more than
60% higher when household characteristics and circumstances relating to
wealth, household head and living arrangements are controlled for. Further analy-
sis reveals that the observed vulnerability among adolescents living in households
with HIV infected adults is partly explained by background factors relating to
region of residence and ethnicity and to a lesser extent by school non-attendance
and mass media exposure.
Key words: Adolescent sexual debut; adolescents affected by HIV/AIDS;
Kenya; Demographic and Health Surveys; logistic regression
models
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