Positive parenting for positive parents: HIV/AIDS, poverty, caregiver depression, child behavior, and parenting in South Africa.
Families affected by HIV/AIDS in the developing world experience higher risks of psychosocial problems than nonaffected families. Positive parenting behavior may buffer against the negative impact of child AIDS-orphanhood and caregiver AIDS-sickness on child well-being. Although there is substantial literature regarding the predictors of parenting behavior in Western populations, there is insufficient evidence on HIV/AIDS as a risk factor for poor parenting in low- and middle-income countries. This paper examines the relationship between HIV/AIDS and positive parenting by comparing HIV/AIDS-affected and nonaffected caregiver-child dyads (n=2477) from a cross-sectional survey in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (27.7% AIDS-ill caregivers; 7.4% child AIDS-orphanhood). Multiple mediation analyses tested an ecological model with poverty, caregiver depression, perceived social support, and child behavior problems as potential mediators of the association of HIV/AIDS with positive parenting. Results indicate that familial HIV/AIDS's association to reduced positive parenting was consistent with mediation by poverty, caregiver depression, and child behavior problems. Parenting interventions that situate positive parenting within a wider ecological framework by improving child behavior problems and caregiver depression may buffer against risks for poor child mental and physical health outcomes in families affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty.
a Department of Social Policy and Intervention, Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention , University of Oxford , Oxford , UK.
Jamie M
JM
Lachman
Lucie D
LD
Cluver
Mark E
ME
Boyes
Caroline
C
Kuo
Marisa
M
Casale
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D054540:Child, Orphaned / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D004505:Education, Nonprofessional; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012944:Social Support; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires