Skip to main content
GGD PARC
Population Studies Center
  • About
    • PSC within Penn
    • Services
      • Administrative Services
      • Library & Information Services
      • IRB & Human Subjects
      • Computing Services
        • Social Sciences Computing
        • Room Reservations
        • Office of Software Licensing
        • Technology Purchasing Guide
        • Computer Lab Information
        • Instructional Technology & Pedagogy Support Services for Faculty
        • Latest Supported Computing Products from ISC
        • Computing Help
      • Resources
    • Information for Visitors
    • Contact Us
    • PSC Space
      • PSC Conference Room, Collaboration Space, and Commons Reservation Form
  • People
    • Research Associates
    • Research Affiliates
    • Postdocs & Visitors
    • GGD Faculty
    • Spotlight
    • Students
      • Students (Alphabetical)
    • Alumni
      • Alumni (Alphabetical)
    • Staff
    • Students on the Job Market
    • Emeritus Research Associates
  • Research
    • Primary Research Areas
      • New Dynamics of Population Diversity
      • Formal Demography and Demographic Methods
      • Child Development and Human Endowments
      • Structures of Inequality and the Life Course
      • Population and the Environment
      • International Population Research
    • Research Projects
    • Pilot Awards
      • Pilot Project Competition
    • Etienne van de Walle Prize
    • Penn @ PAA
  • Working Papers
  • Newsletters
  • News
    • Funding
    • Conferences & Workshops
    • NICHD Funding Opportunities
    • Videos
    • News (Admin)
  • Events
    • Colloquium
    • All Past Events
    • Past Colloquium Events
  • Ph.D. Programs
    • Demography Ph.D.
    • Sociology Ph.D.
  • Partnerships
    • Internal Allied Centers & Initiatives
    • External Allied Centers & Initiatives
    • Association of Population Centers
    • Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science
    • NICHD Centers
    • NIA Centers

How Beliefs about HIV Status Affect Risky Behaviors: Evidence from Malawi

Commons Link

How Beliefs about HIV Status Affect Risky Behaviors: Evidence from Malawi

Working Paper Number
08-09
Publication Year
2008
Authors
Aureo de Paula
Gil Shapira
Petra E. Todd
Paper Abstract
Many HIV testing programs in Africa and elsewhere aim to reduce risk-taking behaviors by providing individuals with information about their own HIV status. This paper examines how beliefs about own HIV status affect risky sexual behavior using data from married couples living in three regions of Malawi. Risky behavior is measured as the propensity to engage in extramarital affairs or to not use condoms. The empirical analysis is based on two panel surveys for years 2004 and 2006 from the Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project (MDICP) and from an experimental HIV testing intervention carried out in 2004 that provided randomized incentives for picking up test results. Most individuals participating in the MDICP testing learned that they were HIV negative and a small fraction that they were positive. Controlling for potential endogeneity between beliefs and risk-taking, we find that downward revisions in the subjective belief of being HIV positive lead to decreases in the propensity to engage in extra-marital affairs but have no effect on condom use. These results are generally supported by survey questions that directly elicited from respondents how participating in testing altered their behavior. We show that the estimates provide a lower bound in the presence of measurement error in extra-marital affairs.
Acknowledgements

de Paula, Aureo, Gil Shapira, Petra E. Todd. 2008. "How Beliefs about HIV Status Affect Risky Behaviors: Evidence from Malawi." PARC Working Paper Series, WPS 08-09.

Main navigation

nichd

Quick Links

  • IRB & Human Subjects
  • NIH Public Access Policy
  • PSC Library Catalog
  • Sociology Department
  • Economics Department
  • RESERVE SPACE

DONATE TO THE PSC

About Us

The Population Studies Center (PSC) at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) was founded in 1962 and stands as an international leader in research and training on the dynamic structure, organization, and health and well-being of human populations. The services that PSC provides have been funded by infrastructure grants awarded by the Population Dynamics Branch at Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) since 1978. The center and its associates are also supported by research grants and contracts awarded by federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation and by private foundations. Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences is the administrative home of the PSC and provides generous dedicated support to the center.

Read more

Contact

Tel: 215-898-6441
Fax: 215-898-2124
239 McNeil Building
3718 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6298
[Map & Directions]
Contact Us
twitter.com/pennpsc
facebook.com/pennpsc
PSC Directory

Penn A-Z - Penn Calendar

© 2025 University of Pennsylvania
Report Accessibility Issues and Get Help