The psychological effects of parental human immunodeficiency virus infection on uninfected children

Abstract

Objective: To assess the mental health of children of mothers infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. Design: Matched comparison of 26 children of mothers infected with the human immunodeficiency virus and 26 children with no experience of human immunodeficiency virus infection within their families. Setting: Subject children were identified through hospital acquired immunodeficiency syndrome clinics and comparison children were identified through the primary care center of the same hospital. Participants: Subjects and controls were aged 6 to 16 years and matched by age, sex, race, and maternal marital and employment status. Main Outcome Measures: Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist and the children completed the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Children's Depression Inventory. Results: Controlling for confounding variables, subjects were found by the Child Behavior Checklist to be significantly more withdrawn (P