Tanzanian adolescent boys' transitions through puberty: the importance of context.

Journal: American journal of public health

Volume: 104

Issue: 12

Year of Publication: 2015

Affiliated Institutions:  Marni Sommer is with the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY. Samuel Likindikoki is with the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, and Sylvia Kaaya is with the School of Medicine, Muhimibili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Abstract summary 

We explored the masculinity norms shaping transitions through puberty in rural and urban Tanzania and how these norms and their social-ecological context contribute to high-risk health behaviors. We conducted a qualitative case study of adolescent boys in and out of school in 2011 and 2012. Tanzania's social and economic development is reshaping the transition into young manhood. Adolescent boys are losing traditional mechanisms of pubertal guidance, and new meanings of manhood are arising from globalization. Traditional masculinity norms, including pressures to demonstrate virility and fertility, remain strong. Adolescent boys in modernizing Tanzania receive inadequate guidance on their burgeoning sexuality. Contradictory masculinity norms from family and society are shaping their sexual expectations, with implications for their engagement in unsafe sexual behaviors.

Authors & Co-authors:  Sommer Marni M Likindikoki Samuel S Kaaya S S

Study Outcome 

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Statistics
Citations :  The State of the World’s Children: Adolescence—An Age of Opportunity. New York, NY: UNICEF; 2011.
Authors :  3
Identifiers
Doi : 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302178
SSN : 1541-0048
Study Population
Boys
Mesh Terms
Adolescent
Other Terms
Study Design
Case Study
Study Approach
,Qualitative
Country of Study
Tanzania
Publication Country
United States