Abstract
BackgroundGhana has an estimated one million orphans, 250,000 are due to AIDS parental deaths. This is the first study that examined the impact of parental HIV/AIDS status and death on the mental health of children in Ghana.MethodsIn a cross-sectional survey, 4 groups of 200 children (children whose parents died of AIDS, children whose parents died of causes other than AIDS, children living with parents infected with HIV/AIDS, and non-orphaned children whose parents are not known to be infected with HIV/AIDS) aged between 10 and 19 were interviewed on their hyperactivity, emotional, conduct, and peer problems using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.ResultsChildren whose parents died of AIDS showed very high levels of peer problems [F (3,196) = 7.34, p < .001] whilst both orphaned groups scored similarly high on conduct problems [F (3, 196) = 14.85, p < .001]. Hyperactivity showed no difference and was very low in the entire sample. Emotional problems were very high in all the groups except among the non-orphaned children [F (3, 196) = 5.10, p < .001].ConclusionOrphans and children living with parents infected with HIV/AIDS are at heightened risks for emotional and behavioural disorders and that efforts to address problems in children affected by HIV/AIDS must focus on both groups of children. Parallel to this, researchers should see these findings as generated hypotheses (rather than conclusions) calling for further exploration of specific causal linkages between HIV/AIDS and children's mental health, using more rigorous research tools and designs.
Highlights
Ghana has an estimated one million orphans, 250,000 are due to AIDS parental deaths
Researchers cautioned the danger of assuming that studies conducted in one part of Africa are transferable to other African contexts [11], and this study is the first quantitative study to examine the mental health of these vulnerable children in Ghana
To gain a better understanding about how children are affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic research should compare groups of children whose parents died of AIDS, children whose parents died of causes other than AIDS, children living with parents infected with HIV/AIDS, and non-orphaned children whose parents are not known to be infected with HIV/ AIDS in a single design to test the postulations reported by earlier researches
Summary
Ghana has an estimated one million orphans, 250,000 are due to AIDS parental deaths. This is the first study that examined the impact of parental HIV/AIDS status and death on the mental health of children in Ghana. One of the biggest challenges of present health care efforts in Africa in the area of HIV/AIDS is how to provide care and support for the soaring numbers of orphaned children being created by the disease. The African continent is in an "orphan crises" and lack of stable care is likely to put millions of African orphaned children at heightened risk for both physical and mental health problems. Much effort is still being devoted (by African governments) to counting orphans and too little being done to identify broader risks to their health and development
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