Alcohol use, khat smoking and risky sexual behaviour among high school boys in Nairobi, Kenya: findings from a web-based survey

Tilda Farhat, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Carolyn Tucker Halpern, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ellen M.H. Mitchell, IPAS

The purpose of this study is to determine whether alcohol use and khat smoking are associated with risky sexual behaviour among high school boys in Nairobi, Kenya, and if so, to examine potential explanations for these associations. 633 boys in three public schools participated in the study. Prevalence of alcohol and khat use, and of selected sexual risk behaviours will first be computed, followed by appropriate bivariate analysis to determine significant relationships. Finally, logistic regression models predicting frequency of condom use will be tested. We expect sexual risk behaviour to be positively associated with both alcohol and khat use; however we cannot predict whether alcohol and khat use will co-vary simultaneously or separately with sexual risk behaviour since very few studies have investigated the use of khat by young people, its co-occurrence with other substances and their effect on sexual behaviour.