Social Support Networks for Adolescents Orphaned by HIV: Definitions, Barriers, Challenges and Lessons from Uganda

ABSTRACT

Social support is a key element to the health wellbeing of individuals, especially those experiencing major life transitions and crises. Prior evidence has demonstrated that orphaned adolescents are socially isolated with limited supportive networks. This study focused on how orphaned adolescents define social support, the nature of relationships with non-kin ties, barriers and challenges to seeking support. In-depth interviews from 38 orphaned adolescents (14–19 years) were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings demonstrated that 1) orphaned adolescents define support in terms of ‘giving and receiving material and non-material assistance’, and ‘helping individuals overcome problems’, 2) relationships are initiated by family members, 3) economic hardships, stigma, and lack of trust deter adolescents from seeking support outside of the family unit. Study findings point to the need to integrate social support strengthening components within programming for orphaned adolescents living in HIV impacted communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Non-kin ties
• social support
• social networks
• orphaned children

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to the staff and volunteers at the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD) Masaka field office in Uganda for monitoring the study implementation process. Special thanks go to the children and their caregiving families who participated in the study.

Brief biographical statement

Proscovia Nabunya is an Assistant Professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Her global research focus on HIV-stigma reduction interventions, mental health, and family and community-based support systems as protective factors for the development and wellbeing of children and youth in low resource settings, specifically, in sub-Saharan Africa.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability Statement

The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

Financial support for the Bridges to the Future study came from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD, Grant# R01HD070727; PI: Fred M. Ssewamala). The study is registered in the Clinical Trials database (NCT01447615). The qualitative component of the study was funded by the Center for Global Health at the University of Chicago. The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.