Illegal yet developmentally normative: a descriptive analysis of young, urban adolescents' dating and sexual behaviour in Cape Town, South Africa

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dc.contributor.authorGevers, Aniken_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMathews, Cathyen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorCupp, Pamen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorRussell, Marciaen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorJewkes, Rachelen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-04T12:00:51Z
dc.date.available2015-11-04T12:00:51Z
dc.date.issued2013en_ZA
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND:In South Africa, it is illegal for adolescents under age 16years to engage in any sexual behaviour whether kissing, petting, or penetrative sex, regardless of consent. This cross-sectional study investigated the extent to which young adolescents engage in various sexual behaviours and the associations between dating status and sexual behaviours.METHOD:Grade 8 adolescents (N=474, ages 12-15years, mean=14.14years) recruited from Cape Town schools completed surveys providing information about their sociodemographic backgrounds, dating experience, sexual behaviour, and substance use. RESULTS: Lower hierarchy sexual behaviours, such as kissing (71.4% of girls; 88.4% of boys), were more common than oral (3.9% of girls; 13.8% of boys), vaginal (9.3% of girls; 30.0% of boys), or anal (1.4% of girls; 10.5% of boys) sex. Currently dating girls and boys were more likely to engage in sexual behaviours including several risk behaviours in comparison to their currently non-dating counterparts. These risk behaviours included penetrative sex (21.1% of dating vs. 4.5% of non-dating girls; 49.4% of dating vs. 20.2% of non-dating boys), sex with co-occurring substance use (22.2% of dating vs. 0 non-dating girls; 32.1% of dating vs. 40% of non-dating boys), and no contraceptive use (26.1% of sexually experienced girls; 44.4% of sexually experienced boys). Among girls, there were significant associations between ever having penetrative sex and SES (OR=2.592, p=0.017) and never dating (OR=0.330, p=0.016). Among boys, there were significant associations between ever having penetrative sex and never dating (OR=0.162, p=0.008). Although the currently dating group of young adolescents appear to be a precocious group in terms of risk behaviour relative to the currently non-dating group, teenagers in both groups had experience in the full range of sexual behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: Many young adolescents are engaging in a variety of sexual behaviours ranging from kissing and touching to intercourse. Of particular concern are those engaging in risky sexual behaviour. These findings indicate that adolescents need to be prepared for sexual negotiation and decision-making from an early age through comprehensive and accessible education and health services; sections of current legislation may be a barrier to adopting such policies and practices.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationGevers, A., Mathews, C., Cupp, P., Russell, M., & Jewkes, R. (2013). Illegal yet developmentally normative: a descriptive analysis of young, urban adolescents' dating and sexual behaviour in Cape Town, South Africa. <i>BMC International Health and Human Rights</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14690en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationGevers, Anik, Cathy Mathews, Pam Cupp, Marcia Russell, and Rachel Jewkes "Illegal yet developmentally normative: a descriptive analysis of young, urban adolescents' dating and sexual behaviour in Cape Town, South Africa." <i>BMC International Health and Human Rights</i> (2013) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14690en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationGevers, A., Mathews, C., Cupp, P., Russell, M., & Jewkes, R. (2013). Illegal yet developmentally normative: a descriptive analysis of young, urban adolescents’ dating and sexual behaviour in Cape Town, South Africa. BMC international health and human rights, 13(1), 31.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Gevers, Anik AU - Mathews, Cathy AU - Cupp, Pam AU - Russell, Marcia AU - Jewkes, Rachel AB - BACKGROUND:In South Africa, it is illegal for adolescents under age 16years to engage in any sexual behaviour whether kissing, petting, or penetrative sex, regardless of consent. This cross-sectional study investigated the extent to which young adolescents engage in various sexual behaviours and the associations between dating status and sexual behaviours.METHOD:Grade 8 adolescents (N=474, ages 12-15years, mean=14.14years) recruited from Cape Town schools completed surveys providing information about their sociodemographic backgrounds, dating experience, sexual behaviour, and substance use. RESULTS: Lower hierarchy sexual behaviours, such as kissing (71.4% of girls; 88.4% of boys), were more common than oral (3.9% of girls; 13.8% of boys), vaginal (9.3% of girls; 30.0% of boys), or anal (1.4% of girls; 10.5% of boys) sex. Currently dating girls and boys were more likely to engage in sexual behaviours including several risk behaviours in comparison to their currently non-dating counterparts. These risk behaviours included penetrative sex (21.1% of dating vs. 4.5% of non-dating girls; 49.4% of dating vs. 20.2% of non-dating boys), sex with co-occurring substance use (22.2% of dating vs. 0 non-dating girls; 32.1% of dating vs. 40% of non-dating boys), and no contraceptive use (26.1% of sexually experienced girls; 44.4% of sexually experienced boys). Among girls, there were significant associations between ever having penetrative sex and SES (OR=2.592, p=0.017) and never dating (OR=0.330, p=0.016). Among boys, there were significant associations between ever having penetrative sex and never dating (OR=0.162, p=0.008). Although the currently dating group of young adolescents appear to be a precocious group in terms of risk behaviour relative to the currently non-dating group, teenagers in both groups had experience in the full range of sexual behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: Many young adolescents are engaging in a variety of sexual behaviours ranging from kissing and touching to intercourse. Of particular concern are those engaging in risky sexual behaviour. These findings indicate that adolescents need to be prepared for sexual negotiation and decision-making from an early age through comprehensive and accessible education and health services; sections of current legislation may be a barrier to adopting such policies and practices. DA - 2013 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1186/1472-698X-13-31 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - BMC International Health and Human Rights LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2013 T1 - Illegal yet developmentally normative: a descriptive analysis of young, urban adolescents' dating and sexual behaviour in Cape Town, South Africa TI - Illegal yet developmentally normative: a descriptive analysis of young, urban adolescents' dating and sexual behaviour in Cape Town, South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14690 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/14690
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-698X-13-31
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationGevers A, Mathews C, Cupp P, Russell M, Jewkes R. Illegal yet developmentally normative: a descriptive analysis of young, urban adolescents' dating and sexual behaviour in Cape Town, South Africa. BMC International Health and Human Rights. 2013; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14690.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherBioMed Central Ltden_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Psychiatry and Mental Healthen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licenseen_ZA
dc.rights.holder2013 Gevers et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltden_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0en_ZA
dc.sourceBMC International Health and Human Rightsen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinthealthhumrights/en_ZA
dc.subject.otherAdolescenten_ZA
dc.subject.otherSexual behaviouren_ZA
dc.subject.otherCourtshipen_ZA
dc.subject.otherSouth Africaen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHealth policyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHealth legislationen_ZA
dc.titleIllegal yet developmentally normative: a descriptive analysis of young, urban adolescents' dating and sexual behaviour in Cape Town, South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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