Tanzanian adolescent boys' transitions through puberty: The importance of context

M. Sommer, S. Likindikoki and S. Kaaya

American Journal of Public Health, 2014, vol. 104, issue 12, 2290-2297

Abstract: We explored the masculinity norms shaping transitions through puberty in rural and urban Tanzania and how these norms and their social-ecological context contribute to high-risk health behaviors. We conducted a qualitative case study of adolescent boys in and out of school in 2011 and 2012. Tanzania's social and economic development is reshaping the transition into young manhood. Adolescent boys are losing traditional mechanisms of pubertal guidance, and new meanings of manhood are arising from globalization. Traditional masculinity norms, including pressures to demonstrate virility and fertility, remain strong. Adolescent boys in modernizing Tanzania receive inadequate guidance on their burgeoning sexuality. Contradictory masculinity norms from family and society are shaping their sexual expectations, with implications for their engagement in unsafe sexual behaviors. © 2013 American Public Health Association.

Keywords: adolescent; attitude to health; human; interview; male; masculinity; physiology; puberty; qualitative research; sexual behavior; sexual maturation; social change; social environment; Tanzania, Adolescent; Attitude to Health; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Male; Masculinity; Puberty; Qualitative Research; Sexual Behavior; Sexual Maturation; Social Change; Social Environment; Tanzania (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2014.302178_5

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302178

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