Gender role conflict and sexual health and relationship practices amongst young men living in urban informal settlements in South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1. Sociodemographic, sexual health and scale-level characteristics of young men.

Characteristic	n (%)
Age median (Q1, Q3)	25 (23, 28)
Education (n = 445)
Primary School	59 (13.3)
Secondary School	249 (56.0)
Matric	137 (30.8)
Food insecurity
Little/no hunger	120 (26.7)
Moderate hunger	282 (62.8)
Severe hunger	47 (10.5)
Worked in the last three months
Yes	231 (51.5)
Satisfied in relationship with primary
partner (n = 403)
Yes	342 (84.9)
Perpetrated any physical IPV in the last year
Yes	225 (50.1)
Perpetuated any sexual IPV in the last year
Yes	177 (39.4)
Two or more main partners in the last 3 months
Yes	187 (41.7)
Two or more casual and one off partners in the last year
Yes	181 (40.3)
Partner at last sex (n = 433)
Casual/one off or ex	197 (45.5)
Main	236 (54.5)
Transactional sex in the last year (n = 433)
Yes	284 (65.6)
Client of a sex worker in the last year (n = 433)
Yes	69 (15.9)
Gender attitudes median (Q1, Q3)	24 (17, 32)
Relationship Control median (Q1, Q3)	9 (6, 11)

Table 2. Independent scale items in Gender Role Conflict/Stress (GRC/S) sub-scales.

Scale Item
Response	Do not agree at all n (%)	Somewhat agree n (%)	Agree a lot n (%)
Success, power competition
1. I am often concerned about how others evaluate my ability to provide for my family	77 (17.2)	205 (45.7)	167 (37.2)
2. I strive to be more successful than others.	53 (11.8)	190 (42.3)	206 (45.9)
3. I sometimes define my personal value by my ability to make money or find work.	57 (12.7)	201 (44.8)	191 (42.5)
4. Being physically stronger than other men is important to me.	68 (15.1)	181 (40.3)	200 (44.5)
5. I always strive to win in sports competitions.	82 (18.3)	189 (42.1)	178 39.6)
6. Having a girlfriend or wife is part of my idea of being a successful man	71 (15.8)	178 (39.6)	200 (44.5)
Subordination to women
1. Making more money than a woman is a measure of my value and personal worth.	91 (20.3)	185 (41.2)	173 (38.5)
2. Being outperformed at work by a woman would make me uncomfortable.	124 (27.6)	205 (45.7)	120 (26.7)
3. I would be concerned if my friends knew I live with a woman and did any housework.	161 (35.9)	185 (41.2)	103 (22.9)
4. I do not like to let a woman take control of the situation.	106 (23.6)	221 (49.2)	122 (27.2)
5. I would be concerned if my friends knew I stayed at home to take care of children while my wife goes to work.	136 (30.3)	192 (42.8)	121 (27.0)
6. Having a female boss would be difficult for me	181 (40.3)	167 (37.2)	101 (22.5)
Restrictive emotion
1. I have difficulty telling others I care about them.	151 (33.6)	199 (44.3)	99 (22.1)
2. Talking about my feelings during or after sex is difficult for me.	141 (31.4)	203 (45.2)	105 (23.4)
3. I often have trouble finding words to describe how I am feeling.	113 (25.2)	218 (48.6)	118 (26.3)
4. I do not like to show my emotions to other people.	93 (20.7)	198 (44.1)	158 (35.2)
5. Having someone see me cry would be difficult for me.	74 (16.5)	190 (42.3)	185 (41.2)

Table 3. Crude and 95% Confidence Intervals for nine HIV-risk related outcomes among young men (n = 449).

	Relationship satisfaction	Relationship Control	Physical IPV in the last year	Sexual IPV in the last year	Two or more main partners in the last year	Partner at last sex (casual or one off)	Two or more casual or one off partners in the last year	Transactional sex in the last year	Client of a sex worker in the last year
	Unadjusted odds ratio (OR) (95%CI)	Unadjusted Coefficients (β) (95%CI)	OR	OR	OR	OR	OR	OR	OR
Success, power competition	1.02 (0.92–1.13)	0.47 (0.33–0.61)	0.97 (0.89–1.05)	0.95 (0.88–1.04)	1.14 (1.05–1.23)	0.92 (0.87–0.98)	1.12 (1.04–1.21)	1.00 (0.92–1.08)	1.00 (0.91–1.11)
Subordination to women	0.89 (0.81–0.98)	0.43 (0.31–0.55)	1.04 (0.97–1.12)	1.09 (1.01–1.17)	1.04 (0.97–1.11)	1.17 (1.08–1.26)	1.17 (1.09–1.26)	1.20 (1.12–1.30)	1.18 (1.08–1.29)
Restrictive emotions	0.78 (0.69–0.89)	0.51 (0.36–0.65)	1.07 (0.99–1.17)	1.16 (1.06–1.27)	1.05 (0.97–1.14)	1.11 (1.04–1.18)	1.20 (1.11–1.31)	1.18 (1.08–1.28)	1.17 (1.05–1.31)
GRC/S (total scale)	0.95 (0.90–0.99)	0.25 (0.19–0.30)	1.01 (0.98–1.05)	1.04 (1.00–1.07)	1.04 (1.00–1.08)	1.02 (0.99–1.05)	1.09 (1.05–1.12)	1.07 (1.03–1.10)	1.06 (1.02–1.11)

Items in bold are statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Table 4. Adjusted and 95% ConfidenCE Intervals for nine HIV-risk related outcomes among young men (n = 449).

	Relationship satisfaction	Relationship Control	Physical IPV in the last year	Sexual IPV in the last year	Two or more main partners in the last year	Partner at last sex (casual or one off)	Two or more casual or one off partners in the last year	Transactional sex in the last year	Client of a sex worker in the last year
	Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) (95%CI)	Adjusted Coefficients (β) (95%CI)	aOR	aOR	aOR	aOR	aOR	aOR	aOR
Success, power competition	1.08 (0.96–1.20)	0.23 (0.12–0.35)	0.90 (0.83–0.98)	0.89 (0.81–0.98)	1.12 (1.03–1.22)	0.89 (0.82–0.96)	1.07 (0.99–1.16)	0.95 (0.88–1.04)	0.97 (0.97–1.08)
Subordination to women	0.94 (0.84–1.05)	0.11 (-0.00 to 0.21)	0.93 (0.86–1.01)	1.00 (0.92–1.09)	1.01 (0.93–1.09)	1.06 (0.99–1.14)	1.09 (1.01–1.18)	1.17 (1.08–1.27)	1.13 (1.02–1.25)
Restrictive emotions	0.82 (0.71–0.94)	0.17 (0.04–0.14)	0.97 (0.88–1.06)	1.09 (0.99–1.21)	1.01 (0.92–1.11)	1.14 (1.05–1.24)	1.12 (1.02–1.22)	1.13 (1.03–1.24)	1.12 (0.99–1.26)
GRC/S (total scale)	0.97 (0.92–1.02)	0.09 (0.04–0.14)	0.96 (0.92–1.00)	0.99 (0.95–1.03)	1.03 (0.99–1.06)	1.00 (0.97–1.03)	1.05 (1.01–1.09)	1.05 (1.01–1.09)	1.04 (0.99–1.09)

All models adjusted for age, education level, past 3 months employment, food insecurity, gender attitudes, intervention, and clustering by neighborhood.

Items in bold are statistically significant (p < 0.05).