Caroline Kuo1,2,3, Ashleigh LoVette1, Jennifer Pellowski1, Abigail Harrison1, Catherine Mathews4, Don Operario1, William Beardslee5,6,7, Dan J Stein8,9, Larry Brown10. 1. Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health. 2. Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. 3. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town. 4. Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa. 5. Boston Children's Hospital. 6. Judge Baker Children's Center. 7. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 8. South African MRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders. 9. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. 10. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: In South Africa, adolescents account for the largest share of new HIV infections. Given the scale of the epidemic, millions of adolescents cope with familial HIV illness and AIDS orphanhood. Developing an understanding of adolescent resilience is vital for informing HIV and mental health prevention efforts. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey of N = 195 South African adolescents, 13-15 years, and living in communities with high prevalence of HIV and poor mental health, was used to gather data on resilience, psychosocial factors, and mental health. METHODS: Participants were recruited through systematic community-based household sampling. Analysis was conducted on a subsample of adolescents identified as potentially vulnerable (n = 82); potential vulnerability was defined as adolescents living with HIV, residing with parents or caregivers living with HIV, or experiencing orphanhood. Differences on behavioral and psychosocial outcomes in those with higher and lower resilience were evaluated using SPSS software. RESULTS: Among adolescents identified as potentially vulnerable (n = 82), those with higher resilience scores reported significantly lower behavioral problems using the total difficulties Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire score (P < 0.01) with a mean score difference of 2.76 (standard error = 1.02). Multivariate linear regressions were conducted with total difficulties Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire score as the dependent variable. Higher resilience among vulnerable youth was significantly associated with fewer behavioral problems (β = -0.229, P < 0.05), even after adjusting for variables that could also contribute to poor behavioral outcomes. CONCLUSION: Resilience is related to the behavioral health of vulnerable HIV-affected adolescents. Resilience-focused interventions hold promise for improving the behavioral health of adolescents living in high HIV prevalence settings.
OBJECTIVE: In South Africa, adolescents account for the largest share of new HIV infections. Given the scale of the epidemic, millions of adolescents cope with familial HIV illness and AIDS orphanhood. Developing an understanding of adolescent resilience is vital for informing HIV and mental health prevention efforts. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey of N = 195 South African adolescents, 13-15 years, and living in communities with high prevalence of HIV and poor mental health, was used to gather data on resilience, psychosocial factors, and mental health. METHODS:Participants were recruited through systematic community-based household sampling. Analysis was conducted on a subsample of adolescents identified as potentially vulnerable (n = 82); potential vulnerability was defined as adolescents living with HIV, residing with parents or caregivers living with HIV, or experiencing orphanhood. Differences on behavioral and psychosocial outcomes in those with higher and lower resilience were evaluated using SPSS software. RESULTS: Among adolescents identified as potentially vulnerable (n = 82), those with higher resilience scores reported significantly lower behavioral problems using the total difficulties Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire score (P < 0.01) with a mean score difference of 2.76 (standard error = 1.02). Multivariate linear regressions were conducted with total difficulties Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire score as the dependent variable. Higher resilience among vulnerable youth was significantly associated with fewer behavioral problems (β = -0.229, P < 0.05), even after adjusting for variables that could also contribute to poor behavioral outcomes. CONCLUSION: Resilience is related to the behavioral health of vulnerable HIV-affected adolescents. Resilience-focused interventions hold promise for improving the behavioral health of adolescents living in high HIV prevalence settings.
Authors: Linda M Richter; Lorraine Sherr; Michele Adato; Mark Belsey; Upjeet Chandan; Chris Desmond; Scott Drimie; Mary Haour-Knipe; Victoria Hosegood; Jose Kimou; Sangeetha Madhavan; Vuyiswa Mathambo; Angela Wakhweya Journal: AIDS Care Date: 2009
Authors: Irma Eloff; Michelle Finestone; Jennifer D Makin; Alex Boeving-Allen; Maretha Visser; Liesel Ebersöhn; Ronél Ferreira; Kathleen J Sikkema; Margaret J Briggs-Gowan; Brian W C Forsyth Journal: AIDS Date: 2014-07 Impact factor: 4.177
Authors: Caroline Kuo; Millicent Atujuna; Catherine Mathews; Dan J Stein; Jacqueline Hoare; William Beardslee; Don Operario; Lucie Cluver; Larry K Brown Journal: AIDS Care Date: 2016-02-26