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Spousal communication about the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi

Spousal communication about the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi
Spousal communication about the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi
This paper uses qualitative and quantitative data from married men and women in rural Malawi to examine how they comprehend their risk to HIV/AIDS and what preventive strategies they consider within marriage. Program efforts to promote behavior change have consistently focused on promoting chastity before marriage and fidelity while married or using condoms. These behavioral prescriptions are suitable for extramarital contexts but not within marriage, where the condom is far from being accepted as a suitable preventive tool and spouses face the reality that one’s vulnerability to AIDS is not confined to his/her behavior alone. The survey data show, unsurprisingly, that those who have the most reason for concern (e.g. those worried about contracting the disease) and those who have greater program and informal social contacts are most likely to communicate. The semi-structured interviews show that husbands and wives use subtle and gendered strategies to encourage fidelity; they talk to each other about the consequences of HIV/AIDS on their children’s and their own lives as a prelude for highlighting and justifying joint sexual prudence. These results show that rather than giving up to fate, marital partners are actively challenging and persuading each other to reform sexual behavior to avoid the intrusion of HIV/AIDS into the home
247-278
Zulu, Eliya Msiyaphazi
fb784354-33e9-4c1e-aa90-b70d80a24639
Chepngeno, Gloria
4a386fed-03ca-4791-827a-ec7a7950530c
Zulu, Eliya Msiyaphazi
fb784354-33e9-4c1e-aa90-b70d80a24639
Chepngeno, Gloria
4a386fed-03ca-4791-827a-ec7a7950530c

Zulu, Eliya Msiyaphazi and Chepngeno, Gloria (2003) Spousal communication about the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi. Demographic Research, supplement Special Collection 1, 247-278. (doi:10.4054/DemRes.2003.S1.8).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This paper uses qualitative and quantitative data from married men and women in rural Malawi to examine how they comprehend their risk to HIV/AIDS and what preventive strategies they consider within marriage. Program efforts to promote behavior change have consistently focused on promoting chastity before marriage and fidelity while married or using condoms. These behavioral prescriptions are suitable for extramarital contexts but not within marriage, where the condom is far from being accepted as a suitable preventive tool and spouses face the reality that one’s vulnerability to AIDS is not confined to his/her behavior alone. The survey data show, unsurprisingly, that those who have the most reason for concern (e.g. those worried about contracting the disease) and those who have greater program and informal social contacts are most likely to communicate. The semi-structured interviews show that husbands and wives use subtle and gendered strategies to encourage fidelity; they talk to each other about the consequences of HIV/AIDS on their children’s and their own lives as a prelude for highlighting and justifying joint sexual prudence. These results show that rather than giving up to fate, marital partners are actively challenging and persuading each other to reform sexual behavior to avoid the intrusion of HIV/AIDS into the home

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Published date: 2003

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 193627
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/193627
PURE UUID: 6e913155-c059-415e-870a-3fb40738629d
ORCID for Gloria Chepngeno: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6782-363X

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Date deposited: 18 Jul 2011 08:20
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:24

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Contributors

Author: Eliya Msiyaphazi Zulu
Author: Gloria Chepngeno ORCID iD

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