Effects of a Multilevel Resilience-Based Intervention on Mental Health for Children Affected by Parental HIV: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the efficacy of the Child-Caregiver-Advocacy Resilience (ChildCARE) intervention, a multilevel resilience-based psychosocial intervention, on mental health outcomes, including depressive symptoms, school anxiety, and loneliness, among children affected by parental HIV in central China. Seven hundred and ninety children (51.6% boys, 6-17 years of age) affected by parental HIV were randomly assigned by cluster to a control group or one of three intervention groups designed to test the three conditions of the ChildCARE intervention (child-only, child + caregiver, child + caregiver + community). Linear mixed-effects modeling was performed to test the intervention effect at 6, 12, and 18 months. The intervention did not yield significant changes in mental health outcomes in the child-only group at any follow-ups, whereas significant reductions in depressive symptoms and loneliness were observed in the child + caregiver group at 12 months. The observed intervention effects were not sustained at 18 months. Also, children who received the additional community component that, was implemented after 12 months did not show larger improvements in mental health outcomes than the control group at 18 months. Lastly, older children (i.e., ≥12 years) were found to benefit more from the intervention than their younger counterparts (i.e., <12 years). Overall, the findings provide some support for the promise of multilevel resilience-based interventions in improving mental health of children affected by parental HIV, but more research is needed to further determine whether multilevel resilience-based interventions can yield sustained effects on mental health.