Adolessente seuns se siening van seksuele aktiwiteite as 'n grondslag vir 'n VIGS-voorkomingsprogram

M.Phil.AIDS is regarded as the most disastrous health threat in the world. The impact of HIV/AIDS goes beyond the physical well being of the individual: it affects the world's economic, social and political functioning. The greatest number of people living in sub-Saharan Africa, are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.HIV/AIDS related issues amongst adolescents were neglected due to the visible impact of this pandemic on babies and adults. Adolescents' behaviour is regarded as high-risk because of their involvement in sexual activities at a young age. Presently there is no cure or vaccine for AIDS. The only effective way to prevent or reduce HIV transmission is through changing the behaviour that leads to HIV infection. The National and Provincial Departments of Health, Education and Welfare implemented various AIDS prevention programmes, focussing on promoting the practice of safer sex amongst adolescents. Unfortunately, these AIDS prevention programmes did not result in the behavioural changes of adolescents. The dissatisfying outcome questions the efficacy of the development and implementation of these programmes, although they have adequate knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Most AIDS prevention programmes do not ·focus, nor accommodate the specific needs of adolescents, especially adolescent boys. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe adolescent boys' views about sexual activities and their specific needs in terms of an AIDS prevention programme. Guidelines would then be presented to developers of AIDS prevention programmes, based on the identified views and needs. The research design was based on qualitative research because of its exploratory, descriptive and contextual nature. The collection of the data was done by means of focus group interviews and field notes reflecting the observation done during the interviews. The analysis of the data was done according to Tesch's approach of data reduction. Literature was used to compare and complement the results. Applying Guba' s model on trustworthiness ensured the trustworthiness ofthe research. The results of the fieldwork indicated the following themes: • Most adolescents are sexually active. • Different roles and motives exist for adolescent boys and girls in terms of sex. • Adolescents externalise the risks HIV presents. • Three categories of views exist toward the acceptability of involvement in sexual activity, ranging from unacceptable to acceptable. • Adolescents' experience underlying feelings of fear in terms of issues related to sex. • Adolescents' needs in terms of AIDS prevention programmes mainly focus on the functionality of the information that is provided as well as the presentation of these programmes. • The importance of ongoing sex education, including HIV/ AIDS related 1ssues, were stressed by adolescents and confirmed by literature. Based on these findings, guidelines were presented to inform developers of HIV/AIDS programmes, of the specific needs adolescent boys need to be addressed