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The Impact of a National Poverty Reduction Program on the Characteristics of Sex Partners Among Kenyan Adolescents

AIDS and Behavior volume 18, pages 311–316 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Cash transfer programs have the potential to prevent the spread of HIV, particularly among adolescents. One mechanism through which these programs may work is by influencing the characteristics of the people adolescents choose as sex partners. We examined the four-year impact of a Kenyan cash transfer program on partner age, partner enrollment in school, and transactional sex-based relationships among 684 adolescents. We found no significant impact of the program on partner characteristics overall, though estimates varied widely by gender, age, schooling, and economic status. Results highlight the importance of context in exploring the potential HIV preventive effects of cash transfers.

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Acknowledgments

The research was funded by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health through Grant Number 1R01MH093241 and by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [T32 HD007168 and R24 HD050924] to the Carolina Population Center.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    Molly Rosenberg & Audrey Pettifor

  2. Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Molly Rosenberg, Audrey Pettifor, Harsha Thirumurthy, Carolyn Tucker Halpern & Sudhanshu Handa

  3. Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Harsha Thirumurthy

  4. Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Carolyn Tucker Halpern

  5. Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Sudhanshu Handa

Authors
  1. Molly Rosenberg
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  2. Audrey Pettifor
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  3. Harsha Thirumurthy
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  4. Carolyn Tucker Halpern
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  5. Sudhanshu Handa
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Correspondence to Molly Rosenberg.

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Rosenberg, M., Pettifor, A., Thirumurthy, H. et al. The Impact of a National Poverty Reduction Program on the Characteristics of Sex Partners Among Kenyan Adolescents. AIDS Behav 18, 311–316 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0487-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0487-z

Keywords

  • Cash transfer
  • Sex partner characteristics
  • Adolescents
  • HIV
  • Kenya