Age-disparate Partnerships and Socioeconomic Status - a study on HIV risk for adolescent girls and young women in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract: This thesis investigates the relationship between socioeconomic status and age-disparate partnerships for adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24 in KwaZulu-Natal. Age-disparate partnering is defined as engaging in a sexual partnership with a partner five years older or more. Separate measures of education level, employment status, and household income are used as indicators for socioeconomic status. The logistic regression model estimates the relationships. The findings imply an association between socioeconomic status and age-disparate partnerships. There is a significant negative relationship between education level and age-disparate partnerships. The same inverse pattern is suggested for household income, although non-significant and more modest. The probability for students engaging in age-disparate partnerships is lower compared to other employment categories. The probability of age-disparate partnering increase with age for all socioeconomic measures.