Mental Health Risk of Mothers and Children: The Role of Maternal HIV Infection

• NCJ Number: 217420
• Journal: Journal of Early Adolescence Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2007 Pages: 67-89
• Author(s): Elizabeth Brackis-Cott; Claude Ann Mellins; Curtis Dolezal; Dina Speigel
• Date Published: February 2007
• Length: 23 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study compared the rates of mental health problems of HIV-positive mothers and their children with those of similarly situated HIV-negative mothers and their children.

Abstract

Results indicated that HIV-positive mothers reported significantly more depressive symptoms than their HIV-negative counterparts. The findings for the children, however, indicated no significant difference in depressive symptoms for the children with HIV-positive mothers and the children with HIV-negative mothers. Moreover, HIV-positive mothers who disclosed their HIV-positive status to their children were more likely to report greater depressive symptomatology than mothers who did not disclose their HIV-positive status to their children. Likewise, children who had been informed of their mothers’ HIV-positive status were more likely to score in the clinically depressed range on the Child Depression Inventory than children who had not been told of their mothers’ HIV-positive status. The findings also indicated that Latina mothers and their children were more likely to exhibit depression and anxiety symptoms, particularly in families in which the mother was born outside of the United States. The results suggest that the evaluation of depression and other mental health problems should become a routine part of primary care for HIV-affected women, particularly Latina women. Participants were 220 mother-child dyads who were recruited from non-HIV clinics and HIV medical clinics to complete interviews regarding demographic characteristics and mental health functioning. Participating dyads were divided into two groups, HIV-positive mothers and HIV-negative mothers, which matched in terms of inner-city and ethnic-minority neighborhood residence and low socioeconomic status. T-tests and chi-square tests were performed to compare the two groups in terms of mean depression and anxiety scores. Limitations of the study are discussed and include the use of a convenience sample and a cross-sectional design. Tables, references