Abstract:
There is little knowledge about the psychosocial distress of children affected by human immunodeficiency
virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in Ghana, to aid the planning of services. This
study investigated mental health problems among children affected by HIV/AIDS, compared with control groups of children
orphaned by other causes, and non-orphans.
Method. The study employed a cross-sectional survey that interviewed 291 children and their caregivers. Both children
and caregivers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire that measured children’s psychosocial wellbeing.
Verbal autopsy was used to identify whether children lost one or both parents from AIDS.
Results. The results indicated that controlling for relevant sociodemographic factors, both children’s self-reports and
caregivers’ reports indicate that both children living with HIV/AIDS-infected caregivers and children orphaned by
AIDS were at heightened risk for mental health problems than both children orphaned by other causes and non-orphans.
The findings further indicated that a significant proportion of orphaned and vulnerable children exhibited symptoms for
depression and other psychiatric disorders (approximately 63%) compared with 7% among the non-orphaned group.
Caregivers gave higher ratings for children on externalizing problems and lower on internalizing problems, and vice
versa when the children’s self-reports were analysed.
Conclusions. The findings suggest that both children and their informants have diverse yet complementary perspectives
on psychological outcomes. The study discusses the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and urgently
calls for necessary intervention programmes that target all children affected by HIV/AIDS to effectively alleviate psychological
distress and enhance the mental health of these children.
