Sexual multipartnership and condom use among adolescent boys in four sub-Saharan African countries

Guiella Georges, Université de Montréal

Sub-Saharan Africa is not only the most affected region by HIV in the World but the epidemic among adolescents is also the fastest growing. This worrying situation is mostly the consequence of risky behaviors. Using data from nationally-representative surveys, we assess the simultaneous effects of individual, socio-economic and contextual factors on multipartnership and condom use among adolescent boys of 12-19 years old in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda. Findings from bivariate probit regression show that early entry into sexuality, formal education and HIV-related knowledge each have simultaneous effect on multipartnership and condom use. Adolescents with high parental control are less likely not only to have multiple sexual partners but they are also more likely to use condom systematically when multiparnership occurs. This result suggests that notwithstanding parents’ declining influence over their children’s behavior in recent years, they continue to play important roles in promoting adolescents’ responsible sexual behavior.