Abstract
ABSTRACTChildren affected by HIV/AIDS have unique psychosocial needs that often go unaddressed in traditional treatment approaches. They are more likely than unaffected peers to encounter stigma, including overt discriminatory behaviors, as well as stereotyped attitudes. In addition, HIV-affected children are at risk for experiencing negative affect, including sadness and depression. Previous studies have identified a link between HIV stigma and the subsequent emotional status of children affected by HIV/AIDS. However, limited data are available regarding protective psychological factors that can mitigate the effects of HIV stigma and thus promote resiliency for this vulnerable population. Utilizing data from 790 children aged 6–17 years affected by parental HIV in rural central China this study aims to examine the association between HIV stigma, including both enacted and perceived stigma, and emotional status among HIV-affected children, as well as to evaluate the mediating effects of emotional regulation on the relationship between HIV stigma and emotional status. In addition, the moderating role of age is tested. Multiple regression was conducted to test the mediation model. We found that the experience of HIV stigma had a direct positive effect on negative emotions among children affected by HIV. Emotional regulation offers a level of protection, as it mediated the impact of HIV stigma on negative emotions. Moreover, age was found to moderate the relationship between perceived stigma and negative emotions. A significant interaction between perceived stigma and age suggested that negative emotions increase with age among those who perceived a higher level of stigmatization. Results suggest that children affected by HIV may benefit from interventions designed to enhance their capacity to regulate emotions and that health professionals should be aware of the link between stigma and negative emotion in childhood and adolescence and use the knowledge to inform their treatments with this population.
Highlights
The development of increasingly effective antiretroviral medications has greatly decreased vertical transmissions of HIV in recent years, yielding a large number of children who are uninfected yet face a myriad of challenges related to their parents’ health status
For the past two decades, a large body of evidence has established that people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are at risk for experiencing stigma, and that this social stigma extends to non-infected children (Chi, Li, Zhao, & Zhao, 2014)
Numerous studies have demonstrated that HIV stigma is significantly associated with various health indicators (e.g., Piot, Bartos, Ghys, Walker, & Schwartländer, 2001; Van Brakel, 2006), little is known about the association between HIV stigma and emotional status for children affected by HIV
Summary
The development of increasingly effective antiretroviral medications has greatly decreased vertical transmissions of HIV (i.e., mother-to-child) in recent years, yielding a large number of children who are uninfected yet face a myriad of challenges related to their parents’ health status. This study aims to establish the relationship between HIV stigma and emotional status among the children affected by parental HIV and to examine whether emotional regulation may mediate this relationship. The current study seeks to explore the role of emotional regulation as a mediator of the negative effect of HIV stigma on emotional status. The current study examines whether age may have a moderating effect on the relationship between HIV stigma and emotional status. The aims of the present study are to (1) investigate the association between HIV stigma and emotional status, (2) evaluate emotional regulation as a mediator of the relationship between HIV stigma and emotional status, and (3) examine age as moderator between the association of HIV stigma and emotional status among HIVaffected children in China. We further hypothesize that age will moderate the relationship between HIV stigma and emotional status
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