Volume 28 - Article 30 | Pages 849–880
When the group encourages extramarital sex: Difficulties in HIV/AIDS prevention in rural Malawi
Date received: | 26 May 2011 |
Date published: | 17 Apr 2013 |
Word count: | 8566 |
Keywords: | extramarital, fixed effects, HIV/AIDS, Malawi, marriage, panel data, sexual intercourse, social networks, sub-Saharan Africa |
DOI: | 10.4054/DemRes.2013.28.30 |
Abstract
Background: Recent research on the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa has highlighted the relevance of married individuals‘ extramarital sexual behavior for the spread of the disease. At the same time, there is social disapproval of sexual infidelity.
Objective: This article examines the extent to which Malawian married men‘s likelihood of having extramarital sex is influenced by their expectations about the prevalence of extramarital relationships in their social network. It also explores whether this effect depends on the network density, and whether it is also observed when the extramarital behavior of a particularly influential actor is controlled for.
Methods: Data from the last two waves, 2004 and 2006, of the longitudinal survey provided by the Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project are analyzed both cross-sectionally and through a panel analysis with fixed effects. The longitudinal approach enables the researcher to deal with the potential non-random distribution of social interactions among respondents, which bias the estimation in the cross-sectional analysis.
Results: Married men‘s expectations about the prevalence of extramarital sexual relationships in the network were shown to have a substantial influence on their extramarital behavior, and the impact was found to be bigger in dense networks. In addition, there was some evidence that the perceived dominant behavior in the peer group is relevant, independent of the extramarital behavior of the respondents‘ best friends.
Author's Affiliation
Julia Cordero Coma - Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research
»
An inquiry into the uneven distribution of women’s HIV infection in rural Malawi
Volume 25 - Article 28 | Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Malawi, marriage, sub-Saharan Africa
»
Polygyny and HIV in Malawi
Volume 19 - Article 53 | Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Malawi, marriage, sub-Saharan Africa
»
Physical attractiveness and women’s HIV risk in rural Malawi
Volume 37 - Article 10 | Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Malawi, sub-Saharan Africa
»
Forgotten marriages? Measuring the reliability of marriage histories
Volume 34 - Article 19 | Keywords: Malawi, marriage, sub-Saharan Africa
»
Sexual networks, partnership mixing, and the female-to-male ratio of HIV infections in generalized epidemics: An agent-based simulation study
Volume 33 - Article 15 | Keywords: HIV/AIDS, marriage, sub-Saharan Africa
Articles
Citations
Cited References: 73
»View the references of this article
Download to Citation Manager
Similar Articles
PubMed
»Articles by Julia Cordero Coma
Google Scholar
»Articles by Julia Cordero Coma