A multi-level analysis of risk perception, poverty and sexual risk-taking among young people in Cape Town, South Africa

Male and female respondents who perceived themselves to be at great risk of HIV infection were less likely to indulge in risky sexual behaviors. For females, race and community-level poverty were confounded such that race mediated the effects of community-level poverty. Results from this study indicate that multiple rationalities affect sexual behaviors in Cape Town, South Africa and that there is a need to consider both the social embeddedness of sexual behaviors and the rational components of decision making when designing HIV/AIDS prevention programs.