Despite the severity of the AIDS epidemic and the centrality of pregnancy and fertility to life in sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about how AIDS and its consequences alter reproductive goals and strategies. The Young Adult Families and AIDS Study (YAFAS) will collect timely and innovative data to investigate how young adults transitioning to parenthood amid a generalized epidemic simultaneously navigate the dual goals of avoiding HIV/AIDS and healthy childbearing. We situate the study in rural Malawi because counseling and testing for HIV, which are likely to influence reproduction, are just becoming available in the rural areas. An integrated longitudinal data set will include: Data from 2000 young women who will be tested for pregnancy and interviewed at quarterly intervals over a period of three years;linked data to their male sexual partners;biomarkers for HIV for both men and women, with the testing randomized in order to assess the causal influence of learning HIV serostatus;and from traditional cultural authorities to illuminate the role of local context in shaping reproductive desires. Using these new data, we address questions critical for individual, couple, national and international efforts to achieve health childbearing in a high-fertility and high HIV-prevalence setting.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
7R01HD058366-03
Application #
7940147
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZHD1-DSR-W (20))
Program Officer
Newcomer, Susan
Project Start
2008-06-15
Project End
2013-05-31
Budget Start
2009-06-02
Budget End
2010-05-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$585,782
Indirect Cost
Name
Pennsylvania State University
Department
Type
Organized Research Units
DUNS #
003403953
City
University Park
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
16802
Sennott, Christie; Yeatman, Sara (2018) Conceptualizing Childbearing Ambivalence: A Social and Dynamic Perspective. J Marriage Fam 80:888-901
Yeatman, Sara; Smith-Greenaway, Emily (2018) Birth Planning and Women's and Men's Health in Malawi. Stud Fam Plann :
Frye, Margaret (2017) Cultural Meanings and the Aggregation of Actions: The Case of Sex and Schooling in Malawi. Am Sociol Rev 82:945-976
Yeatman, Sara; Trinitapoli, Jenny (2017) Awareness and perceived fairness of Option B+ in Malawi: A population-level perspective J Int AIDS Soc 20:21467
Sennott, Christie; Yeatman, Sara (2016) SURPRISING RESULTS: HIV TESTING AND CHANGES IN CONTRACEPTIVE PRACTICES AMONG YOUNG WOMEN IN MALAWI. J Biosoc Sci 48:174-91
Furnas, Hannah E (2016) Capturing Complexities of Relationship-Level Family Planning Trajectories in Malawi. Stud Fam Plann 47:205-21
Conroy, Amy A (2015) The influence of relationship power dynamics on HIV testing in rural Malawi. J Sex Res 52:347-59
Frye, Margaret; Trinitapoli, Jenny (2015) Ideals as Anchors for Relationship Experiences. Am Sociol Rev 80:496-525
Yeatman, Sara E; Hoffman, Risa M; Chilungo, Abdallah et al. (2015) Brief Report: Health-Seeking Behavior and Symptoms Associated With Early HIV Infection: Results From a Population-Based Cohort in Southern Malawi. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 69:126-30
Yeatman, Sara; Sennott, Christie (2015) The sensitivity of measures of unwanted and unintended pregnancy using retrospective and prospective reporting: evidence from Malawi. Matern Child Health J 19:1593-600

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