UC Berkeley

Purpose

Schooling is associated with a lower risk of Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in adolescent girls and young women, but there is little understanding of the pathways underlying this relationship.

Methods

We used data from adolescent girls and young women in South Africa enrolled in the HIV Prevention Trials Network 068 study. We tested a structural equation model where individual household and community education measures were associated directly and indirectly with incident HSV-2 through HIV knowledge, future aspirations, age-disparate partnerships, sex in the last 12 months, and condomless sex.

Results

Community, household, and individual measures of schooling were all associated with incident HSV-2 infection through mediated pathways that increased the likelihood of having sex. Low school attendance (<80% of school days) increased the likelihood of having sex through increased age-disparate partnerships and reduced future aspirations. Fewer community years of education increased the likelihood of having sex through increased age-disparate partnerships. Parental education level was indirectly associated with HSV-2 overall, although we could not identify the individual pathways that were responsible for this association.

Conclusions

Community and individual schooling interventions may reduce the risk of HSV-2 infection by influencing the likelihood of having sex, partner age, and future aspirations.