9317488 Pelto This project involves the dissertation research of a cultural anthropologist from the University of Connecticut. The student will study changing beliefs about reproduction and sexual behavior among young men and women in Senegal, West Africa. It will examine how changes in wage labor, migration and education patterns affect reproduction-related strategies. Using ethnographic research methods of intensive interviews, surveys and focus-group interviews in Dakar, the capital city, and in a rural village, the student will try to understand how young people conceptualize their sexual behavior and its relation to STDs. This research is important because AIDS and other STDs are a major public health issue all over the world, and particularly in Africa. Advances in our understanding of how young people think about their sexual behavior can help public health officials deal with the problem. ***
