Social Correlates of HIV-Risky Behaviours among African Canadian Adolescents Living in British Columbia, Canada: A Secondary Data Analysis

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jun 1;20(11):6031. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20116031.

Abstract

Studies have linked HIV-risky behaviours among young people to several socio-contextual factors. However, the social factors that might increase African Canadian adolescents' exposure to HIV-risky behaviours, including unprotected sex and forced or multiple-sexual partnerships, have received little or no attention in the literature. Using data from the British Columbia Adolescent Health Surveys (2003-2018) and guided by intersectionality and socio-ecological frameworks, we examined the social determinants of HIV-risky behaviours (HRB) among African Canadian adolescents in British Columbia. We observed a general decline in HRB from 2008 to 2018. However, more than half (54.5%) of the 1042 who were sexually experienced in 2018 reported having 2 or more sexual partners, and nearly half reported condom-less sex. Our results demonstrate an important need to evaluate the impacts of several social factors on health outcomes for a unique, marginalized population.

Keywords: African Canadian adolescents; HIV; black youths; health disparity; risky behaviours; social determinants of health; socio-ecological model.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Black or African American
  • British Columbia / epidemiology
  • HIV Infections* / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Risk-Taking
  • Secondary Data Analysis*
  • Sexual Behavior

Grants and funding

Data analyses were supported in part by an internal research fund from the University of British Columbia School of Nursing (E. Ojukwu, PI) and the BC Adolescent Health Survey received funding from the British Columbia Provincial Government (A. Smith and E. Saewyc, co-PIs).