Barcelona 2013
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| Abstract #254 - Mental Health | ||||
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Session: 39.6: Mental Health (Parallel) on Tuesday @ 16.30-18.30 in Teatre Chaired by Sue Gibbons, Jordi Blanch Authors: Presenting Author: Dr. danhua Lin - Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, China |
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| Additional Authors: Lic Juan Sotelo, Lic Daniel Palacio, Lic Fernando D`Elio, Lic Luciana Betti, Dr Silvana Weller, Lic Julia Recchi, Dr Carlos Falistocco, | ||||
| Aim: Loneliness and depressive symptoms are two common measures of mental health among various populations. Existing literature supports the distinction between loneliness and depressive symptoms and shows that loneliness predicts increases in depression symptoms among middle-aged and older population. This study aims to examine the reciprocal predictive relationships between loneliness and depression among children affected by HIV/AIDS. This vulnerable group is exposed to particular risk factors (e.g., parent bereavement and stigma against AIDS) as well as protective factors trust relationship with caregivers)for psychological well-being. We will also evaluate the possible effects of posttraumatic stress, enacted stigma and trust relationship with caregivers on the associations between loneliness and depression. | ||||
| Method / Issue: A three-year longitudinal data were gathered from 1,625 children who were 6-18 years old at baseline from two rural counties in Henan China. Participants annually completed self-report measures of loneliness, depression, posttraumatic stress, enacted stigma against AIDS, and trust relationship with caregivers. An autoregressive cross-lagged panel model was used to assess reciprocal relationship between loneliness and depression from baseline to Year 2 and from Year 2 to Year 3. Posttraumatic stress, enacted stigma, and trust relationship were added as a covariate in the cross-lagged model to control their lagged effects on loneliness and depression. All the analyses were conducted with MPlus 5.0. | ||||
| Results / Comments: Cross-lagged analyses indicated that loneliness predicted subsequent changes in depression, but not vice versa.The lagged effect of loneliness on depression retained statistical significance controlling posttraumatic stress, enacted stigma, and trust relationship. The influence of posttraumatic stress on loneliness was stable and statistically significant. Enacted stigma showed stationary predictive effect on both loneliness and depression. Trust relationship with caregivers continued to exert negative associations with depression. | ||||
| Discussion: Our findings confirm the important role of loneliness in depressive symptoms among children affected by HIV/AIDS. Future interventions need to pay attention to reducing loneliness among these vulnerable children due to trauma events and stigma against AIDS. It is urgent to engage multiple stakeholders (parents and other caregivers, schools and community) into interventions to enhance trust relationship with caregivers, and reduce stigma and social isolation against children affected by HIV/AIDS. | ||||
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