A syndemic of psychosocial and mental health problems in Liberia: Examining the link to transactional sex among young pregnant women

Abstract

Transactional sex may be a driver of the rising HIV epidemic in Liberia, especially among young women. The goal of this study was to explore the independent and additive effects of psychosocial conditions on engagement in transactional sex among 191 pregnant women in Monrovia, Liberia. Between March and August 2016, women receiving prenatal services completed a cross-sectional structured questionnaire. These data were used to examine the independent and additive effects of exposure to trauma, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and intimate partner violence on transactional sex. Overall, the results are in support of our hypothesis that these psychosocial conditions cluster together and are independently associated with transactional sex. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated an additive effect of the number of psychosocial conditions experienced on transactional sex. Women experiencing 2 psychosocial conditions had 5.96 greater odds of engaging in transactional sex compared to women reporting 0 conditions (AOR: 5.96, 95% CI: 2.22–15.99), and women experiencing 3 or 4 psychosocial conditions had 11.91 greater odds of engaging in transactional sex compared to women report 0 conditions (AOR: 11.91, 95% CI: 4.12–34.45). Our results demonstrate the need for comprehensive HIV prevention programming inclusive of mental health support and IPV prevention for Liberian women.