title: Religion, HIV/AIDS and sexual risk-taking among men in Ghana.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Stephen Obeng
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Gyimah
authors.forename: Eric Y
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Tenkorang
authors.forename: Baffour K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Takyi
authors.forename: Jones
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Adjei
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fosu
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000635:transmission*; D002835:Christianity; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D004522:Educational Status; D005869:Ghana; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000635:transmission*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012071:Religion and Sex; D047568:Unsafe Sex / Q000208:ethnology*