“Condoms Are Boring”: Navigating Relationship Dynamics, Gendered Power, and Motivations for Condomless Sex Amongst Adolescents and Young People in South Africa

Figures & data

Table 2. Condom use at Last Sex Among Sexually Active AGYW who Answered this Question (n = 2831).

				Condom use at last sex
	Overall			Did not use condom at last sex			Used condom at last sex
Variable	n	%	95% CI	n	%	95% CI	n	%	95% CI	p-Value	Risk difference (%)	95% CI
Age group
15–19	1201	42.5	41.0–44.1	486	40.8	38.6–43.0	715	59.2	57.0–61.4	0.0000	−8.60	−11.64–−5.56
20–24	1630	57.5	55.9–59.0	811	49.4	47.2–51.6	819	50.6	48.4–52.8
HIV status†
Positive	471	16.0	14.8 –17.1	215	45.0	41.0–49.1	256	55.0	50.9–59.0	0.6707	−0.90	−5.02–3.23
Negative	2359	84.0	82.9 –85.2	1082	45.9	44.2–47.5	1277	54.1	52.5–55.8
Used hormonal contraceptives at last sex
No	1852	65.1	63.5–66.7	838	45.1	43.2–47.1	1014	54.9	52.9–56.8	0.2994	−1.73	−4.98–1.52
Yes	979	34.9	33.3–36.5	459	46.8	44.1–49.6	520	53.2	50.4–55.9
Used contraceptive other than condoms to prevent pregnancy at last sex
No	1771	62.3	60.6–63.9	797	44.9	42.9–46.9	974	55.1	53.1–57.1	0.1701	−2.26	−5.48–0.96
Yes	1060	37.7	36.1–39.4	500	47.1	44.6–49.7	560	52.9	50.3–55.4
Last sexual partner was casual††
No	2351	98.3	97.8–98.7	1103	46.8	45.0–48.6	1248	53.2	51.4–55.0	0.6590	2.79	−9.53–15.11
Yes	38	1.7	1.3–2.2	18	44.0	31.5–57.1	20	56.0	42.9–68.5

^†One person had missing HIV status and was excluded. ^††442 participants did not answer this question and were excluded.

Table 3. Condom Use in the Last 3 Months Among Sexually Active AGYW (n = 3009).

				Condom use in last 3 months
	Overall			Did not use condom in last 3 months			Used condom in last 3 months
Variable	n	%	95% CI	n	%	95% CI	n	%	95% CI	p-Value	Risk difference (%)	95% CI
Age group
1–19	1300	43.3	41.8–44.8	522	40.5	38.3–42.9	778	59.5	57.1–61.7	0.6905	−0.59	−3.47−2.29
20–24	1709	56.7	55.2–58.2	714	41.1	39.0–43.2	995	58.9	56.8–61.0
HIV status†
Positive	499	15.9	14.8–17.0	190	38.3	34.6–42.2	309	61.7	57.8–65.4	0.1134	−3.02	−6.74−0.69
Negative	2509	84.1	83.0–85.2	1046	41.4	39.7–43.0	1463	58.6	57.0–60.3
Used hormonal contraceptives at last sex††
No	1893	65.4	63.8–67.0	814	42.6	40.5–44.7	1079	57.4	55.3–59.5	0.0069	4.30	1.22−7.39
Yes	991	34.6	33.0–36.2	378	38.3	35.8–40.8	613	61.7	59.2–64.2
Used contraceptive other than condoms to prevent pregnancy at last sex††
No	1812	62.6	61.0–64.2	786	42.9	40.8–45.1	1026	57.1	54.9–59.2	0.0027	4.85	1.73−7.97
Yes	1072	37.4	35.8–39.0	406	38.1	35.6–40.5	666	61.9	59.5–64.4
Last sexual partner was casual†††
No	2388	98.2	97.8–98.6	983	40.9	39.0–42.7	1405	59.1	57.3–61.0	0.2540	6.95	−4.94−18.84
Yes	39	1.8	1.4–2.2	13	33.9	22.2–47.3	26	66.1	52.7–77.8

^†One person had missing HIV status and was excluded. ^††125 participants had missing info and were excluded. ^†††582 participants had missing info and were excluded.

Table 4. Condomless Sex from Alcohol and Drug Use in the Past 3 Months, Among Sexually Active AGYW (n = 3009).

				Condomless sex in past 3 months due to drug and alcohol use
	Overall			Did not have sex without condom because of using drugs and alcohol			Had sex without condom because of using drugs and alcohol
Variable	n	%	95% CI	n	%	95% CI	n	%	95% CI	p-Value	Risk difference (%)	95% CI
Age group
15–19	1300	43.3	41.8–44.8	1228	93.9	92.7–95.0	72	6.1	5.0–7.3	0.0024	2.58	0.93–4.22
20–24	1709	56.7	55.2–58.2	1573	91.4	90.0–92.6	136	8.6	7.4–10.0
HIV status†
Positive	499	15.9	14.8–17.0	458	90.8	88.2–93.0	41	9.2	7.0–11.8	0.1231	−1.94	−4.40–0.51
Negative	2509	84.1	83.0–85.2	2342	92.8	91.8–93.7	167	7.2	6.3–8.2
Used hormonal contraceptives at last sex††
No	1893	65.4	63.8–67.0	1766	92.7	91.5–93.7	127	7.3	6.3–8.5	0.4325	0.66	−0.98–2.29
Yes	991	34.6	33.0–36.2	919	92.0	90.5–93.4	72	8.0	6.6–9.5
Used contraceptive other than condoms to prevent pregnancy at last sex††
No	1812	62.6	61.0–64.2	1692	92.8	91.6–93.8	120	7.2	6.2–8.4	0.3037	0.85	−0.77–2.47
Yes	1072	37.4	35.8–39.0	993	91.9	90.4–93.2	79	8.1	6.8–9.6
Last sexual partner was casual†††
No	2388	98.2	97.8–98.6	2226	92.5	91.5–93.5	162	7.5	6.5–8.5	0.0216	15.02	3.21–26.82
Yes	39	1.8	1.4–2.2	32	77.5	63.1–88.4	7	22.5	11.6–36.9

^†One person had missing HIV status and was excluded. ^††125 participants had missing info and were excluded. ^†††582 participants had missing info and were excluded..

Table 1. HERStory Study Qualitative Sample in Five South African Districts by Site. 

Province	Western Cape (WC)	KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)	Mpumalanga (MPU)	North West (NW)	Eastern Cape (EC)
District	City of Cape Town	King Cetshwayo	Gert Sibande	Bojanala	Nelson Mandela Bay
Characteristic	Urban	Rural	Semi–urban	Semi–urban	Urban
Sample group	n	n	n	n	n	Total n
AGYW* aged 15–18 years	52	28	33	26	38	177
AGYW aged 19–24 years	11	22	8	9	10	60
Total AGYW aged 15–24 years	63	50	41	35	48	237
Male peers aged 18–24 years	7	8	7	2	14	38

*AGYW: adolescent girls and young women.