Browsing by Author "Van Schoor, Jeanne"

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    Predicting sexual risk behaviour among late adolescents : the role of attitudes and ideology
    (2022-04) Van Schoor, Jeanne; Kafaar, Zuhayr; Van Wyk, Sherine Bronvin; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Psychology.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Sexual Risk Behaviour (SRB) among adolescents is a concern, both globally and in South Africa. SRB is defined by the increased risk of negative outcome, following two distinct routes: firstly an increased chance of contracting or transmitting sexual transmitted disease (STD), including the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV); and secondly, an increased risk of unplanned pregnancy. SRB can have a direct long-term impact on one’s health and South African youth are facing a unique challenge in their reproductive and sexual health, because of a common culture where women hold a lower status and experience oppression within sexual relationships. Compounded by a patriarchal system common under traditional African cultures but not exclusive to them. Contributing factors to SRB are attitudes and behaviours originating from inequitable gender norms as well as hegemonic ideas of femininity ideology, underpinning the need for solutions focused on gender related issues that drive the epidemic. The aim of this study was to establish whether gender norms and/or femininity ideology predicts SRB. My study formed part of a larger study, exploring SRB and possible predictors thereof. This was a quantitative study which focused on heterosexual late adolescent female and male students from the Stellenbosch University (SU). Data were collected using an online survey with a cross sectional convenience sample from the SU student population. First a pilot study was conducted to test the reliability of the measurement instruments; the reliability of the measurement instruments was confirmed for, after which the pilot survey data were included in the main study. The sample consisted of n=698 female and n=379 male participants, aged 18 to 24 years, from different faculties at SU. I used four measurement instruments, namely the Gender Equitable Men Scale, the Adolescent Femininity Ideology Scale for Girls consisting of two sub-scales namely, the Inauthentic Self in Relationship and the Objectified Relationship with Body scale, the Adolescent Femininity Ideology Scale for Boys and the Sexual Risk Behaviour scale to operationalise my constructs and gather data. In answering my research aim the results showed that there was a non-statistical significant relationship between GEMS and SRB for females, GEMS for males showed a statistically significant relationship with SRB, translating to gender equitable attitudes predicting low SRB for males students, although with an R-square of 16.7 it showed little significance when translated to real life. For female students gender equitable attitudes showed no relationship with SRB. The results for AFIS and SRB for females and AFIS-B and SRB for males both showed a non-statistical significant relationship with SRB, translating to femininity ideology for both female and male students showing no relationship with SRB.