IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v69y2009i2p199-209.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Religious teachings and influences on the ABCs of HIV prevention in Malawi

Author

Listed:
  • Trinitapoli, Jenny

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between religion and HIV risk behaviors in rural Malawi, giving special attention to the role of religious congregations, the organizations with which rural Africans have most immediate contact. It draws on 2004 data from a household survey in 3 districts (NÂ =Â 3386), and quantitative and qualitative data collected in 2005 from 187 leaders of religious congregations previously identified in the survey. The first aim is descriptive - to identify overall patterns and variations in what religious leaders in rural Malawi teach about HIV and about sexual behavior in light of the epidemic. The second aim is to assess how religious organizations impact the behavior of individual members. I examine three outcomes that correspond with the ABCs of HIV prevention: abstinence (for never married persons), fidelity (for married persons), and condom use (among sexually active persons). Multi-level models reveal that religious affiliation and involvement are not correlated with the sexual behavior of congregation members, but that beliefs about appropriate sexual behavior and particular congregational characteristics are associated with adherence to A, B, and C. Individuals belonging to congregations led by clergy who 1) frequently deliver formal messages about HIV, 2) monitor the sexual behavior of members, and 3) privately encourage condom use report greater adherence to the ABCs of HIV prevention, suggesting that religious congregations are relevant for the sexual behavior of members and for better understanding the forces shaping individual behavior in the context of the African AIDS epidemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Trinitapoli, Jenny, 2009. "Religious teachings and influences on the ABCs of HIV prevention in Malawi," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 199-209, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:69:y:2009:i:2:p:199-209
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(09)00244-5
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barbara Mensch & Paul Hewett & Annabel Erulkar, 2003. "The reporting of sensitive behavior by adolescents: A methodological experiment in Kenya," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 40(2), pages 247-268, May.
    2. Gray, Peter B., 2004. "HIV and Islam: is HIV prevalence lower among Muslims?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(9), pages 1751-1756, May.
    3. Susan Cotts Watkins, 2004. "Navigating the AIDS Epidemic in Rural Malawi," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 30(4), pages 673-705, December.
    4. Simona Bignami & Georges Reniers & Alexander A. Weinreb, 2003. "An Assessment of the KDICP and MDICP Data Quality," Demographic Research Special Collections, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 1(2), pages 31-76.
    5. Agadjanian, V. & Sen, S., 2007. "Promises and challenges of faith-based AIDS care and support in mozambique," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(2), pages 362-366.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Anais Bertrand-Dansereau & Shelley Clark, 2016. "Pragmatic tradition or romantic aspiration? The causes of impulsive marriage and early divorce among women in rural Malawi," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(3), pages 47-80.
    2. Nicole Angotti & Margaret Frye & Amy Kaler & Michelle Poulin & Susan Cotts Watkins & Sara Yeatman, 2014. "Popular Moralities and Institutional Rationalities in Malawi's Struggle Against AIDS," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 40(3), pages 447-473, September.
    3. Jimi Adams & Jenny Trinitapoli, 2009. "The Malawi Religion Project:," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 21(10), pages 255-288.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michelle Poulin, 2010. "Reporting on first sexual experience," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 22(11), pages 237-288.
    2. Shelley Clark, 2010. "Extra-marital sexual partnerships and male friendships in rural Malawi," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 22(1), pages 1-28.
    3. Philip Anglewicz, 2012. "Migration, Marital Change, and HIV Infection in Malawi," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(1), pages 239-265, February.
    4. Alexander A. Weinreb & Guy Stecklov, 2009. "Social inequality and HIV-testing," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 21(21), pages 627-646.
    5. Anglewicz, Philip & Clark, Shelley, 2013. "The effect of marriage and HIV risks on condom use acceptability in rural Malawi," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 29-40.
    6. Jimi Adams & Jenny Trinitapoli, 2009. "The Malawi Religion Project:," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 21(10), pages 255-288.
    7. Cordero Coma, Julia, 2014. "HIV prevention and marriage: Peer group effects on condom use acceptability in rural Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 169-177.
    8. Guy Stecklov & Alexander Weinreb & Calogero Carletto, 2018. "Can incentives improve survey data quality in developing countries?: results from a field experiment in India," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 181(4), pages 1033-1056, October.
    9. Margaret Frye & Sophia Chae, 2017. "Physical attractiveness and women’s HIV risk in rural Malawi," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(10), pages 251-294.
    10. Teresa Molina Millán & Karen Macours, 2017. "Attrition in randomized control trials: Using tracking information to correct bias," FEUNL Working Paper Series novaf:wp1702, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Economia.
    11. Amy Kaler & Susan Watkins, 2010. "Asking God about the date you will die: HIV testing as a zone of uncertainty in rural Malawi," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 23(32), pages 905-932.
    12. Roland Pongou & Roberto Serrano, 2009. "A dynamic theory of fidelity networks with an application to the spread of HIV/AIDS," Working Papers 2009-03, Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados (IMDEA) Ciencias Sociales.
    13. Parijat Chakrabarti & Margaret Frye, 2017. "A mixed-methods framework for analyzing text data: Integrating computational techniques with qualitative methods in demography," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(42), pages 1351-1382.
    14. Emily Oster, 2005. "Sexually Transmitted Infections, Sexual Behavior and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic," CID Working Papers 4, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    15. Enid Schatz & Nicole Angotti & Sangeetha Madhavan & Christie Sennott, 2015. "Working with teams of "insiders"," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(12), pages 369-396.
    16. Tocco, Jack Ume, 2017. "The Islamification of antiretroviral therapy: Reconciling HIV treatment and religion in northern Nigeria," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 75-82.
    17. M. Giovanna Merli & Sara Hertog, 2010. "Masculine sex ratios, population age structure and the potential spread of HIV in China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 22(3), pages 63-94.
    18. Molina Millán, Teresa & Macours, Karen, 2017. "Attrition in Randomized Control Trials: Using Tracking Information to Correct Bias," IZA Discussion Papers 10711, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7310 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Sikstrom, Laura, 2018. "“There was no love there”: Intergenerational HIV disclosure, and late presentation for antiretroviral therapy in Northern Malawi," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 175-182.
    21. Dick Durevall & Annika Lindskog, 2016. "Adult Mortality, AIDS, and Fertility in Rural Malawi," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 54(3), pages 215-242, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:69:y:2009:i:2:p:199-209. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.