OVC Support Toolkit  >  Psychosocial support 

Psychosocial Effects of HIV/AIDS

This section looks at the psychosocial effects of HIV/AIDS on orphans and other vulnerable children. Other sections look in general at the issue of psychosocial support, in more detail at the issue of grief and bereavement and at the resilience that many children and young people have to cope with even the most difficult of circumstances.

Key psychosocial effects of HIV/AIDS on children are:

1. The effects of stress. Stress is an emotional condition, experienced or felt when an individual has to cope with unsettling, frustrating or harmful situations. It is a disturbing sense of helplessness, which is uncomfortable and creates uncertainty and self-doubt.

2. The effects of parental death.

3. Poor sense of identity. This particularly affects those children and young people who are in institutions. They have no parent or adult relative who can help them develop their own identity, within their own culture.

4. Behavioral problems. Some children and young people react to stress by becoming aggressive, withdrawing, taking drugs or drinking alcohol. These may be the way in which these children and young people cope with the stress they are facing. These have been called 'negative defence mechanisms'.

5. Poor management of change. Parents assist their children to cope with changes that occur in their lives. Children without parents may lack this support, particularly if they have little contact with family or community members. This is particularly a problem for children and young people living in institutions.

Definition

In general, psychosocial effects of HIV/AIDS describe the feelings and reactions experienced by children and young people when they are affected by HIV/AIDS in some way.

Stress

Stress is an emotional condition, experienced or felt when an individual has to cope with unsettling, frustrating or harmful situations. It is a disturbing sense of helplessness, which is uncomfortable and creates uncertainty and self-doubt. Different things cause stress. Some of them are called 'primary stress factors'. These include death or sickness of a parent. These may be made worse by other factors, such as loss of home, worsening poverty, dropping out of school, stigma and discrimination and separation from brothers and sisters. These are called 'secondary stress factors'. Children and young people who are stressed often feel anxious and lacking in confidence. They may have a low opinion of themselves. In some situations, children/young people may become depressed. Depression is a deep sadness with long-term, harmful effects on a child's health and development.

Parental Death

In many societies, people believe that children should be protected from death because they are too young to understand what has happened. They may also believe that children quickly forget about their parents. Although children do react differently to the death of a parent, there are some feelings which children commonly experience. These include:

• Guilt - the child feels responsible for the parent's death
• Anger - this may be directed at the parent who died or a person who the child believes caused the death
• Sadness - this is a normal and natural reaction to the death of a parent

Effects on Other People

In addition to the psychosocial effects of HIV/AIDS on children, there are also effects on their carers. Adult carers may experience the feelings described above. Children with HIV may be particularly vulnerable to psychosocial problems because of the additional stresses they face.

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