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Religion, HIV/AIDS and sexual risk-taking among men in Ghana
Authors: Gyimah SO, Tenkorang EY, Takyi BK, Adjei J, and Fosu G.
Source: Journal of Biosocial Science, 42(4):531-47. doi: 10.1017/S0021932010000027
Topic(s): HIV/AIDS
Religion
Sexual behavior
Country: Africa
  Ghana
Published: JUL 2010
Abstract: Although a growing body of research has linked religious involvement with HIV/AIDS protective behaviour in Africa, the focus has mainly been on women. Given the patriarchal nature of African culture, this paper argues for the inclusion of men, a critical group whose sexual behaviours have increasingly been linked to the spread and sustenance of the virus in the region. Drawing on different theoretical discourses and using data from the 2003 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, this paper examines how religious affiliation influences men's risky sexual behaviours. While the results from the bivariate analysis suggested that Muslims and Traditionalists were significantly less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviour compared with Christians, those differences disappeared once socioeconomic variables were controlled, rendering support for the selectivity thesis. This finding could benefit programmatic and policy formulation regarding AIDS prevention in Ghana.