Page 131 - IJPS-10-4

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Adolescents’ behavioral changes and preventive

practices against COVID-19 in South Africa: The
influence of household characteristics

1,2
Nebechukwu Henry Ugwu * , Clifford Obby Odimegwu 1 ,
and Yemi Adewoyin 3
1 Department of Demography and Population Studies, School of Public Health and Social Sciences,
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
2 Institute for Development Studies, University of Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria
3 Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria

Abstract

The South African government instituted a countermeasure against COVID-19 in
March 2020, which had a significant impact on many individuals, particularly the
youth. However, there is a limited understanding of how household characteristics
influenced adolescents’ behavioral changes and their adoption of preventive
*Corresponding author: measures during the pandemic. This study aimed to explore the relationship
Nebechukwu Henry Ugwu
(nebechukwu.ugwu@wits.ac.za) between the role of household characteristics and adolescents’ behavioral responses
to COVID-19 in South Africa. Using the latest data from the South African National
Citation: Ugwu, N.H., Odimegwu,
C.O. & Adewoyin, Y. (2024). Income Dynamics-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (Wave 5), which includes
Adolescents’ behavioral changes responses from 5581 (99.9%) youths aged 15 – 24, we analyzed changes in their
and preventive practices against behaviors and the preventive measures they adopted. The study controlled for
COVID-19 in South Africa:
The influence of household various household, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics of the
characteristics. International Journal respondents. We utilized cross-tabulations and an ordinal logistics regression model
of Population Studies, 10(4): 125-139. to determine the relationship between the covariates and the outcome of behavioral
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2751 changes and preventive measures adopted. Our findings revealed that none of the
Received: January 15, 2024 respondents adopted all recommended precautionary measures for COVID-19,
Accepted: June 26, 2024 while 55.7% exhibited low behavioral changes, and only 2.7% exhibited higher
behavioral changes throughout the pandemic. The results indicate that, at both the
Published Online: August 16, 2024 individual and household levels, factors such as gender, educational attainment,
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). source of household income, and access to electricity increase the odds of behavioral
This is an Open-Access article changes against COVID-19 in South Africa. In addition, among household-level
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution factors, adolescents without access to water were more likely to adopt one to three
License, permitting distribution, preventive measures compared to those with access to water (52.2% vs. 47.9%,
and reproduction in any medium, p < 0.001). Therefore, to effectively prevent the spread of infection in South Africa,
provided the original work is
properly cited. it is pertinent to address these household characteristics and encourage preventive
measures tailored to these factors.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Keywords: Adolescent; Behavioral changes; Preventive measures; COVID-19
affiliations.

Volume 10 Issue 4 (2024) 125 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2751