Mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV: correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms

Although declining in all other age groups, AIDS-related deaths among adolescents are increasing. In the context of HIV, mental health problems are associated with negative health outcomes, including non-adherence to life-saving ART. For effective programming it is essential to identify factors asso...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Boyes, Mark, Cluver, L., Meinck, F., Casale, M., Newnham, E.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Routledge 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71008
_version_ 1848762365180379136
author Boyes, Mark
Cluver, L.
Meinck, F.
Casale, M.
Newnham, E.
author_facet Boyes, Mark
Cluver, L.
Meinck, F.
Casale, M.
Newnham, E.
author_sort Boyes, Mark
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Although declining in all other age groups, AIDS-related deaths among adolescents are increasing. In the context of HIV, mental health problems are associated with negative health outcomes, including non-adherence to life-saving ART. For effective programming it is essential to identify factors associated with psychological outcomes in this population. Adopting a socioecological perspective, we aimed to identify correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms in a large, representative sample of South African adolescents living with HIV. HIV-positive adolescents (n = 1060), who received care in public health facilities in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, completed measures of internalising and externalising symptoms. Hypothesised correlates included HIV and health-related factors (physical health, mode of infection, medication side-effects, disclosure, stigma), health-service related factors (negative interactions with clinic staff, clinic support group), interpersonal factors (abuse, bullying victimisation, social support), parenting-related factors (orphanhood, positive parenting, parental monitoring, parent communication), as well as individual and demographic-related factors (self-efficacy, age, gender, urban/rural location, poverty). Correlates operating across a variety of contexts were identified. Bullying victimisation, self-efficacy, and positive parenting may be particularly salient intervention targets as they were associated with better outcomes on most or all mental health measures, can be addressed without directly targeting adolescents living with HIV (reducing the chances of accidental exposure and stigma), and are associated with better adolescent mental health in South Africa more generally.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T10:46:24Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-71008
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T10:46:24Z
publishDate 2018
publisher Routledge
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-710082019-07-02T05:54:40Z Mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV: correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms Boyes, Mark Cluver, L. Meinck, F. Casale, M. Newnham, E. Although declining in all other age groups, AIDS-related deaths among adolescents are increasing. In the context of HIV, mental health problems are associated with negative health outcomes, including non-adherence to life-saving ART. For effective programming it is essential to identify factors associated with psychological outcomes in this population. Adopting a socioecological perspective, we aimed to identify correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms in a large, representative sample of South African adolescents living with HIV. HIV-positive adolescents (n = 1060), who received care in public health facilities in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, completed measures of internalising and externalising symptoms. Hypothesised correlates included HIV and health-related factors (physical health, mode of infection, medication side-effects, disclosure, stigma), health-service related factors (negative interactions with clinic staff, clinic support group), interpersonal factors (abuse, bullying victimisation, social support), parenting-related factors (orphanhood, positive parenting, parental monitoring, parent communication), as well as individual and demographic-related factors (self-efficacy, age, gender, urban/rural location, poverty). Correlates operating across a variety of contexts were identified. Bullying victimisation, self-efficacy, and positive parenting may be particularly salient intervention targets as they were associated with better outcomes on most or all mental health measures, can be addressed without directly targeting adolescents living with HIV (reducing the chances of accidental exposure and stigma), and are associated with better adolescent mental health in South Africa more generally. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71008 10.1080/09540121.2018.1524121 Routledge restricted
spellingShingle Boyes, Mark
Cluver, L.
Meinck, F.
Casale, M.
Newnham, E.
Mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV: correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms
title Mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV: correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms
title_full Mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV: correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms
title_fullStr Mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV: correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms
title_full_unstemmed Mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV: correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms
title_short Mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV: correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms
title_sort mental health in south african adolescents living with hiv: correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71008