This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Brackis-Cott, E. Articles by Spiegel, D. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The Mental Health Risk of Mothers and Children: The Role of Maternal HIV Infection

Claude Ann Mellins

Curtis Dolezal

Dina Spiegel

HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University

Rates of mental health problems in mothers and children in families affected by maternal HIV as compared to those not affected by maternal HIV but living in similar inner-city, low-SES, primarily ethnic-minority neighborhoods were examined. In addition, correspondence between mother and child mental health was explored. Interviews were conducted with 220 mother/child dyads regarding symptoms of depression and anxiety. Participants included HIV-negative early adolescents (ages 10 through 14 years) and their mothers, approximately half of whom were HIV-positive. Overall, mothers with HIV exhibited more depressive symptomatology than uninfected mothers. There were no significant differences, however, in depressive symptomatology between children of mothers who were HIV-positive and children of mothers who were HIV-negative. Among families directly affected by HIV, mothers who disclosed their status to their children endorsed greater depressive symptomatology than those who did not disclose and children who had been disclosed to were more likely to score in the clinically depressed range on the Child Depression Inventory than those who did not know. Latina mothers and their children were at increased risk for both depression and anxiety symptoms, particularly in families where the mother was not born in the United States. The results corroborate previous findings with HIV-infected women that highlight the mental health needs of HIV-infected mothers and their children, particularly children that know their mothers' status.

Key Words: mental health • HIV • mothers • early adolescents

The Journal of Early Adolescence, Vol. 27, No. 1, 67-89 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0272431606294824


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. T. Hawk Disclosures of maternal HIV infection to seronegative children: A literature review Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, October 1, 2007; 24(5): 657 - 673. [Abstract] [PDF]