Structural drivers and social protection: mechanisms of HIV risk and HIV prevention for South African adolescents.

Introduction: Social protection is high on the HIV-prevention agenda for youth in sub-Saharan Africa. However, questions remain: How do unconditional cash transfers work? What is the effect of augmenting cash provision with social care? And can "cash plus care" social protection reduce risks for adolescents most vulnerable to infection? This study tackles these questions by first identifying mediated pathways to adolescent HIV risks and then examining potential main and moderating effects of social protection in South Africa.

Methods: This study was a prospective observational study of 3515 10-to-17-year-olds (56.

Longitudinal Predictors of Child Sexual Abuse in a Large Community-Based Sample of South African Youth.

Sexual abuse has severe negative impacts on children's lives, but little is known about risk factors for sexual abuse victimization in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined prospective predictors of contact sexual abuse in a random community-based sample of children aged 10 to 17 years ( N = 3,515, 56.6% female) in South Africa.