Associations of Social Support with Sexual Practices, Health Behaviours, and Health Outcomes Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women: Evidence From a Longitudinal Study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Background Several studies have reported on the benefits of social support for health behaviour, including risky sex. Social support may thus be an important resource for promoting individual health and well-being, particularly in regions where HIV rates are high and healthcare resources are scarce. However, prior research on the implications of social support for the health behaviour of young women has yielded mixed and inconclusive findings. Using prospective data from young women in South Africa, this study examines the associations of social support with subsequent sexual practices, health behaviour, and health outcomes. Method We used two rounds of longitudinal data from a sample of n = 1446 HIV-negative emerging adult women, aged 18 to 29 years, who participated in a population-based HIV study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Applying the analytic template for outcome-wide longitudinal designs, we estimated the associations between combinations of social support (i.e. tangible, educational, emotional) and ten HIV risk–related outcomes. Results Combinations of tangible, educational, and emotional support, as well as tangible support by itself, were associated with lower risk for several outcomes, whereas educational and emotional support, by themselves or together, showed little evidence of association with the outcomes. Conclusion This study highlights the protective role of tangible support in an environment of widespread poverty, and the additional effect of combining tangible support with non-tangible support. The findings strengthen recent evidence on the benefits of combining support in the form of cash and food with psychosocial care in mitigating risk behaviours associated with HIV and negative health outcomes among young women.