Effects of psychosocial interventions on children affected by parental HIV/AIDS: a meta-analysis on depression and anxiety

Yan Guo,Chen Zhang,Xiaoming Li,Peilian Chi,Shan Zhao,Hongfei Du,Xiuyun Lin

doi:10.1186/s12889-019-7806-x

Abstract

BackgroundChildren orphaned by parental AIDS or those of parents with HIV infection demonstrate many negative mental health outcomes. Different types of psychosocial interventions have been conducted to improve the psychological well-being of these children. The efficacy of these psychosocial interventions has been reviewed and synthesized recently (Skeena et al., Vulnerable Child Youth Stud 12:91-116, 2017), but not quantified.MethodThis study therefore adopted meta-analytic approach to quantify the efficacy of the existing psychosocial interventions on depressive and anxiety symptoms in children affected by parental HIV/AIDS. Eight intervention studies—four randomized controlled trials (RCT) and four pre–post intervention trials—were included.ResultIn general, psychosocial interventions could effectively reduce anxiety or depressive symptoms in children of parents with HIV/AIDS. The overall intervention effect size (Cohen’s d) was 1.298 and 1.100 for depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Publication bias and exploratory moderating effects of study design (RCT vs. pre–post intervention trials), study location, and intervention levels were also analyzed.ConclusionFuture studies reporting the detailed outcome data, which could be used for research integration, are warranted. Further research should also focus on the implementation of evidence-based interventions sensitive to the target population in a developmentally appropriate manner.

Highlights

Children orphaned by parental Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) or those of parents with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection demonstrate many negative mental health outcomes
Many interventions aimed to help children affected by parental HIV/AIDS have been applied in the past decades, including psychological intervention, social support programs, and physical therapy [13]
The first search was in February 2015, where we conducted a comprehensive search of electronic databases, including MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science using a Boolean searching strategy, to identify studies based on interventions in children affected by parental HIV/AIDS reported in English

Summary

Introduction

Children orphaned by parental AIDS or those of parents with HIV infection demonstrate many negative mental health outcomes. The negative influences of HIV are not limited to adults, but they extend to their younger family members [1,2,3] These include HIV-infected or -exposed children as well as seronegative children affected by parental HIV/AIDS [4, 5]. We focused on seronegative children affected by parental HIV/AIDS (i.e., those who were HIV-free and had lost at least one of their parents to HIV/AIDS or were still living with their parents who were infected with HIV) These children can demonstrate more negative developmental outcomes and have higher mental health risk in than do children from HIVfree families [3, 6].

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion