255245 Effects of Family Structure on Sexual Coercion among Adolescent Women in Rakai, Uganda

Wednesday, October 31, 2012 : 8:30 AM - 8:45 AM

Nanlesta Pilgrim, MPH, PhD , Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Saifuddin Ahmed, MBBS, PhD , Department of Population, Family & Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Ronald Gray, MD , Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Joseph Sekasanvu, BSc , Rakai Health Sciences Program, Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda
Fred Nalugoda, S Stat, MHS , Director of Kalisizo Field Station, Rakai Health Sciences Program, Kalisizo, Rakai District, Uganda
Tom Lutalo, MSc , Rakai Health Sciences Program, Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda
David Serwadda, MBChB, MSc, MMed, MPH , Senior Principal Investigator and Director, Rakai Health Sciences Program, Kalisizo, Rakai District, Uganda
Maria Wawer, MPH, MD , Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Context: Studies on adolescent girls' vulnerability to sexual coercion in sub-Saharan Africa have focused mainly on individual risk factors, rarely investigating the role the family might play in their vulnerability. Methods: The association between household family structure, parental vital status and sexual coercion was investigated among unmarried and married adolescent girls, ages 15-19, from rural Rakai, Uganda. The sample consisted of 1985 adolescent girls who were participants in the Rakai Community Cohort Study between 2001 and 2008. Modified Poisson regression was used to estimate relative risk (RR) of sexual coercion in the prior twelve months among adolescent girls, stratified by marital status. Results: Among sexually active girls, 11% reported coercion in a given past year. Among ever-married girls, the rate was 15% compared to 7% in never-married girls (RR: 2.09; 95% CI: 1.62-2.70). Living with a single mother was protective against experiencing coercion. Only 4.1% of never-married girls living with single mothers reported coercion as compared to 7.8% of girls living with biological fathers (adjRR 2.24; 95% CI: 0.98-5.08) and 20% of girls living in step-father households (adjRR 4.73; 95% CI: 1.78-12.53). Ever-married girls whose mothers alone were deceased were more likely to report coercion than those with both parents alive (adjRR 1.56; 95% CI: 1.08-2.30). Conclusion: Protecting adolescent girls from sexual coercion requires preventions approaches which incorporate the family. Understanding the family dynamics underlying the risk and protective effects of a given household structure might highlight new ways in which to prevent sexual coercion.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Assess the family's role in young girls' vulnerability to sexual coercion.

Keywords: Adolescents, International, Sexual Assault

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: The abstract is based upon work I completed during my dissertation. I have been responsible for conceptualization and analyses.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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