The Effects of Religious Affiliation on Sexual Initiation and Condom Use in Zambia

The investigators sought to determine whether religious affiliation reduces HIV risk among young Zambian women and to examine the effects of religious affiliation on sexual debut and on condom use during first sexual experience.

Data from a representative probability sample of 5,534 women ages 13-20 were analyzed. Questions on sexual initiation, condom use during first sex, religious affiliation, and sociodemographic characteristics of respondents were included. At the bivariate and multivariate levels, statistical tests were performed. At the multivariate levels, Cox proportional hazards and logistic regression were used. The researchers adjusted standard errors resulting from the "clustering" effect found in data from multistage cluster samples.

Affiliation with religious groups that excommunicate members for engaging in premarital sex, and that oppose condom use, has both a positive and negative effect on behaviors associated with HIV risk. Young women affiliated with conservative groups are more likely to delay sexual debut but less likely to use condoms during their first sexual experience, the investigators found.

"Denominations that are not only strongly opposed to premarital sex and condom use, but are able to exercise control over adolescents through socialization or the threat of social exclusion, are likely to create conflicting behaviors among adolescents that cancel each other in terms of HIV risk. Overall, these findings suggest that affiliation with conservative religious groups is unlikely to reduce the risk of HIV infection," the researchers concluded, calling for additional studies.

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