Functions and sources of perceived social support among children affected by HIV/AIDS in China

Abstract

While the relationship between perceived social support (PSS) and psychosocial well-being has been well documented in the global literature, existing studies also suggest the existence of multiple domains in definition and measurement of PSS. The current study, utilizing data from 1299 rural children affected by HIV/AIDS in central China, examines the relative importance of PSS functional measures (informational/emotional, material/tangible, affectionate, and social interaction) and PSS structural measures (family/relatives, teachers, friends, and significant others) in predicting psychosocial outcomes including internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and educational resilience. Both functional and structural measures of PSS provided reliable measures of related but unique aspects of PSS. The findings of the current study confirmed the previous results that PSS is highly correlated with children's psychosocial well-being and such correlations vary by functions and sources of the PSS as well as different psychosocial outcomes. The findings in the current study suggested the roles of specific social support functions or resources may need to be assessed in relation to specific psychosocial outcome and the context of children's lives. The strong association between PSS and psychosocial outcomes underscores the importance of adequate social support to alleviate stressful life events and improve psychosocial well-being of children affected by HIV/AIDS. Meanwhile, the study findings call for gender and developmentally appropriate and situation-specific social support for children and families affected by HIV/AIDS.

Keywords:

• perceived social support
• orphans
• China
• internalizing problems
• externalizing problems
• educational resilience
• HIV/AIDS

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Nursing Research [R01MH76488]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Mental Health or the National Institute of Nursing Research. The authors wish to thank other members of the investigation team including Douglas Barnett, Ph.D., Yunfei Lv, Ph.D., and Sylvie Naar-King, Ph.D. for their contribution in the scale development and field data collection. The authors also want to thank Joanne Zwemer for assistance with manuscript preparation.