title: Impact of maternal HIV health: a 12-year study of children in the Parents And Children Coping Together project.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this 12-year longitudinal study was to assess the effects of maternal HIV/AIDS on child/adolescent well-being and behavioral outcomes, extending an earlier published account.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interviews were conducted with 66 pairs of healthy children and their mothers living with HIV/AIDS, who are participants in the Parents And children Coping Together (PACT) project begun in 1997. All study participants were English or Spanish speaking. About half (48.5%) of the youth were female. Maternal health status (e.g., viral load biomedical marker, illness symptoms, physical functioning, and depression) and child/adolescent outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety/worry, aggression, and self-concept) were assessed over 16 time points.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using growth curve modeling, results show a negative effect of maternal health status on child/adolescent outcomes, including child/adolescent depression, anxiety/worry, aggression, and self-concept. Interaction effects within the growth models suggest younger children are more impacted by poor maternal health than are older children/adolescents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study to follow a cohort of children of mothers living with HIV/AIDS over such an extended age range, through late adolescence/early adulthood, to determine the impact of maternal health status throughout the entire developmental period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Health Risk Reduction Projects, Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90025, USA. dmurphy@mednet.ucla.edu
authors.forename: Debra A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Marelich
authors.forename: Diane M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Herbeck
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D002140:California; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D055815:Young Adult