Background
Methods
Study population and setting
Study design
Sample and data collection procedures
Data analysis
Results
Socio-demographic characteristics
Demographic characteristics
| Sample at 6 months n (%) | Sample at 12 months n (%) | Total sample: 6 and 12 months n (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Age (years)
| 16–18 | 17–19 | 16–19 |
Gender
| |||
Male | 9 (47) | 21 (70) | 31 (64) |
Female | 10 (53) | 9 (30) | 18 (37) |
Study arm
| |||
Unconditional cash transfers | 8 (42) | 13 (43) | 21 (43) |
Clinic-conditioned cash transfers | 5 (26) | 8 (27) | 13 (27) |
School-conditioned cash transfers | 6 (32) | 9 (30) | 15 (31) |
Total | 19 (100) | 30 (100) | 49 (100) |
Experiences of the CT intervention
Experiences of the CT conditionalities
“Since I got the clinic part of the study, what I saw is that they gave me a chance to go to the clinic and actually get myself tested or just do anything that I wanted to do, and that has never come to mind. I got the chance to know my status and also get counseling and be taught more about STIs.” (P14, male, clinic).
The size and frequency of the CT payment
The payment method
Patterns of spending CTs
Intervention arm (amount & duration) | Participant ID, gender | Items bought/ activities paid for | Amount spent (ZAR) |
---|---|---|---|
School attendance condition (280 ZAR for 6 months) | P41, male | Gym | 200 |
Nutritional supplements Airtime | 400 | ||
Toiletries | 50 | ||
Pocket money | 50 | ||
Savings |
a
| ||
P20, male | Going out with friends |
a
| |
Clothes | 800 | ||
Petrol | 350 | ||
Movies | 200 | ||
P1, female | Transport to school & lunch | 100 | |
Shoes | 80 | ||
Savings (school holidays) | 100 | ||
Household groceries |
a
| ||
P6, female | School jersey | 100 | |
Household groceries | 100 | ||
Transport for her mother |
a
| ||
Stationery |
a
| ||
Pocket money |
a
| ||
Airtime | 30 | ||
Unconditional (280 ZAR for 6 months) | P26, male | Clothes for matric dance | 1330 |
Entry fee for matric dance | 350 | ||
P20, male | Eating out |
a
| |
Movies | 350 | ||
Petrol | 350 | ||
Gym supplements |
a
| ||
Gym gear |
a
| ||
Clothes | 800 | ||
Airtime |
a
| ||
P13, female | Savings (matric dance) |
a
| |
Birthday gift |
a
| ||
Household groceries |
a
| ||
P10, female | Other personal items | 100 | |
Household electricity | 50 | ||
Cosmetics | 50 | ||
Snacks | 50 | ||
Airtime | 30 | ||
Picnic | 50 | ||
Clinic visit condition (280 ZAR once-off payment) | P21, male | Gym | 180 |
Airtime |
a
| ||
P27, male | Entry fee & clothes for matric dance | 260 | |
Lunch at school | 20 | ||
P4, female | Gave her mom for groceries | 140 | |
Movies | 60 | ||
Savings (trip with friends) | 50 | ||
Cosmetics (perfume, makeup) | 40 | ||
P3, female | Shoes |
a
| |
Savings (cellphone) | 60 | ||
Lunch at school | 60 | ||
Airtime for her siblings | 50 |
Contrary to girls, most boys made independent decisions regarding expenditure. They did, however, mention discussing the use of CTs with their peers. Boys were also most likely to spend CTs on airtime, mobile phones and social activities such as “going out with the boys” and the school dance, which was quite a popular and expensive event. They also spent CTs on clothing, gym, and technology. P18, a young man enrolled in the school-conditioned arm, described how he spent the money each month:“I sat down with my mom and told her that I have got the money, and she asked what I have decided to do with it, and I told her that I would give her half of the money to buy what she needs in the house, while I would use the other half to buy toiletries for myself.” (P4, female, clinic)
In contrast to the above, girls spent some of their CTs on their personal necessities and shared some with family members. They mostly spent the cash on domestic necessities, for example, buying food, helping their parents with transport money, and helping siblings with pocket money. They also paid for personal necessities such as personal care/hygiene products, savings, and clothing. P6, a girl who had received school-conditional payments, illustrated how she spent her monthly payments:“I just spent the first payment on useless things, going to the movies with friends. Then, I used it to go to the camp. The second payment, I asked my mom to add more money onto it, and I bought sneakers for R450 … the third month … that was when I wanted a phone. I asked my mom to add more money onto it, then I purchased a phone for R500 … the fourth payment was like the first payment … I just spent it; I just bought anything I saw that I was interested in ... it was like earphones and a memory card and all that. The last two months ... that’s when I saved my money.”
Generally there were similarities in patterns of expenditure across intervention arms. Similar to girls who had received monthly payments for 6 months, those who had received a single payment also spent CTs on their personal needs and to support family members.“… the first payment, I bought a school jersey, then the second payment, there were things that we needed in the house; so, I bought the things that we needed. At other times I lent to my mom if she did not have money for transport to go to work. When others had money, they liked [to buy] Kentucky [fried chicken]; so, I would go and buy vegetables or a tray of chicken, and go home, cook, and eat with my mom.”
Only two male participants reported spending CTs on alcohol, to entertain themselves. However, adolescents highlighted that expenditure of CTs on alcohol was common among their friends and acquaintances. They spoke of peers who used CTs on “alcohol and drugs” and “gambling,” and “falling prey to money lenders,” which reflected some form of moral judgment. “Most of the young people that I know used their money for drugs and alcohol.” (P20, male, unconditional).“I gave half of the money to my mom to buy groceries in the house, and then I used some of the money for entertainment. I went to the movies with my friends, and I used some of it for toiletries like perfume, make-up and other things that I needed.” (P4, female, clinic)
The meaning of CTs for adolescents
Financial autonomy
Feeling independent and responsible enhanced participants’ self-esteem and decision making, as P4 noted: “It [CT] boosted many young peoples’ confidence by showing them that they can do things on their own without asking for help or working hard.” CTs seemingly offered adolescents choices, including choices about their behavior. Some of the girls spoke about how receipt of CTs changed their behavior. P35, a young woman who received school-conditional payments, reported that, before the intervention, she counted on her boyfriend for financial support, since her mother was unemployed. As a way of showing appreciation to her boyfriend, she felt pressured to have sex with him. When she received CTs, she did not ask her boyfriend for money because she could support herself. She decided not to have sex with her boyfriend. She said:“It was one less stress for her. She was not worried about the matric dance anymore … She wasn’t going to be paying for it anymore. Because she was already worried about buying the books.” (P26, male, unconditional)
P35 continued to do things for herself, even after the intervention; she found part-time employment. Similarly, P1 stopped having multiple relationships and dating older men for financial support, and remained with one partner.“It helped me because I didn’t have to sleep with my boyfriend when I asked him for money … No, he never forced me to have sex with him, but I know that it makes him happy, you know … he said that if I want him to make me happy, then I must also make him happy.”
“The first one was the cash I received because it helped me stop doing many things that I used to do to get cash … Like dating older men, who usually gave me money to buy myself things.” (P1, female, school)
Cash management skills
Developments after the intervention
Receipt of CTs appears to have somewhat compelled adolescent boys to earn an income. Two male participants reported that after the intervention, they saw a need to find employment, so as to meet their personal and families’ needs.“Right now, everything that I come across that has to do with finances, I have to ask my parents, and sometimes this is difficult because they have their own things to pay for. So, I can say that my life has now changed, since I don’t have that money. Yeah, I can say that it went back to where I started. I’m used to having money I made myself.” (P40, male, unconditional)
The end of the CT program made a few of the boys think of easy ways of making money, such as engaging in criminal activities. However, only one criminal incident was reported.“I have to hustle to get money … When in the study, there was no need. But when the money stopped, there was a need because I still had those needs; so, I had to get more money to patch up that empty space.” (P28, male, unconditional)
One male participant (P45, male, school) reported that he was used to getting easy cash, money that he did not work for; so, after the program ended, he considered engaging in criminal activities to get quick cash without putting in much effort. It also appears that such thoughts and frustrations were experienced mostly by those who were neither in school nor employed after the program.“Money is an addiction for some people; so, the less they had, the more they wanted. Some had to try and steal other peoples’ goods to get the money for whatever they had to buy. I remember there was an incident by one person that stopped receiving the money; he mugged someone, took the person’s phone, and sold it to get money.”