Multivariable analysis of the relative risk of several high-risk sexual behaviours among women aged 15–59 years
| Characteristic | Behavioural outcome | ||||
| Transactional sex | Early sexual debut | History of forced sex† | High-risk sex‡ | Intergenerational sex in AGYW§ | |
| aRR (95% CI) | aRR (95% CI) | aRR (95% CI) | aRR (95% CI) | aRR (95% CI) | |
| Severe food insecurity | 1.28 (1.17 to 1.41)*** | 1.18 (1.06 to 1.31)** | 1.36 (1.11 to 1.66)** | 1.08 (1.02 to 1.14)** | 1.23 (1.03 to 1.46)** |
| Country | |||||
| Zambia | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Tanzania | 0.71 (0.64 to 0.80)*** | 0.73 (0.67 to 0.81)*** | - | 1.39 (1.31 to 1.46)*** | 1.37 (1.17 to 1.60)*** |
| Uganda | 1.11 (1.00 to 1.22)* | 1.08 (0.99 to 1.18) | 1.59 (1.30 to 1.95)*** | 1.19 (1.13 to 1.26)*** | 1.18 (1.02 to 1.37)* |
| Namibia | 0.44 (0.38 to 0.50)*** | 0.87 (0.77 to 0.99)* | 0.59 (0.48 to 0.72)*** | 0.71 (0.66 to 0.78)*** | 1.43 (1.14 to 1.80)** |
| Eswatini | 0.24 (0.19 to 0.30)*** | 0.62 (0.53 to 0.72)*** | 0.52 (0.40 to 0.67)*** | 0.70 (0.64 to 0.76)*** | 2.06 (1.67 to 2.55)*** |
| Lesotho | 0.34 (0.29 to 0.39)*** | 0.56 (0.49 to 0.64)*** | 1.46 (1.27 to 1.68)*** | 0.88 (0.82 to 0.94)*** | 1.02 (0.84 to 1.23) |
| Location of residence | |||||
| Urban | NS | NS | 1.0 | NS | 1.0 |
| Rural | 0.93 (0.75 to 1.17) | 1.14 (0.98 to 1.32) | |||
| Age group (years)¶ | |||||
| 15–24 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | Per year increase |
| 25–34 | 0.85 (0.79 to 0.91)*** | 0.78 (0.71 to 0.85)*** | 0.87 (0.73 to 1.03) | 1.01 (0.97 to 1.06) | 1.04 (1.02 to 1.07)*** |
| 35–44 | 0.89 (0.83 to 0.97)** | 0.77 (0.70 to 0.86)*** | 0.82 (0.66 to 1.02)** | 1.21 (1.15 to 1.28)*** | -- |
| 45–59 | 0.70 (0.61 to 0.80)*** | 0.68 (0.60 to 0.76)*** | 0.57 (0.44 to 0.75)*** | 1.44 (1.38 to 1.51)*** | -- |
| Wealth quintile | |||||
| Per quintile increase | 0.92 (0.89 to 0.94)*** | 0.91 (0.88 to 0.93)*** | 1.09 (1.01 to 1.18) | 0.93 (0.92 to 0.95)*** | 1.09 (1.04 to 1.14)*** |
| Education | |||||
| None/Primary | 1.0 | 1.0 | |||
| Secondary or more education | 0.81 (0.74 to 0.88)*** | 0.39 (0.35 to 0.43)*** | NS | NS | 0.71 (0.62 to 0.82)*** |
| Marital status | |||||
| Single | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
| Married | 0.34 (0.31 to 0.37)*** | 1.51 (1.36 to 1.68)*** | 0.92 (0.87 to 0.98)** | 2.75 (2.27 to 3.34)*** | |
| Separated/Divorced/ Widowed | 1.19 (1.08 to 1.31)*** | 1.71 (1.51 to 1.93)*** | NS | 1.12 (1.04 to 1.20)*** | 2.63 (2.09 to 3.31)*** |
| Receipt of economic support†† | |||||
| None | 1.0 | ||||
| Economic only | NS | NS | NS | 0.89 (0.84 to 0.95)*** | NS |
| Food support | 0.81 (0.69 to 0.97)* | ||||
RR determined by Poisson regression using weighted values and Taylor estimates of variance. All variables p<0.20 in univariable analysis were tested in the final model, with those with a p value<0.10 retained. Age group and country were included a priori.
*P≤0.05; **p≤0.01; ***p≤0.001.
†Violence questions were asked to a subset of participants in each household. The results exclude Tanzania due to a non-representative sample. In Uganda, sexual violence questions were only asked to those aged 15–24 years.
‡Defined as having sex without a condom with someone of unknown or positive HIV status in the past 12 months.
§Defined as having a sexual partner at least 10 years older in the past 12 months.
¶Age included as a continuous variable in the analysis restricted to the 15–24 year age band.
††Measured over the past 3 months.
AGYW aged 15–24 years. Analysis restricted to those who report a history of sexual activity aside from sexual debut.
AGYW, adolescent girls and young women; NS, not significant.