The impact of parental HIV/AIDS on children's cognitive ability in rural China

Abstract

This study examined the impact of parental HIV/AIDS on children's cognitive ability. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1625 children aged 6–18 years, including 755 AIDS orphans, 466 vulnerable children, and 404 comparison children in rural China. Participants completed measures of demographic information and the assessment of cognitive ability (verbal comprehension ability and perceptual reasoning ability). Results showed that the cognitive ability was lower among children affected by HIV/AIDS than comparison children. Double orphans living in kinship care performed better on verbal comprehension ability than children living in orphanage or group home, but not on perceptual reasoning ability. Older children (≥15 years old) scored higher on verbal comprehension ability and younger children (≤11 years old) scored higher on perceptual reasoning ability. Boys scored higher than girls on perceptual reasoning ability but not on verbal comprehension ability. Future studies should explore factors that may hinder the development of cognitive ability of children affected by HIV/AIDS and provide appropriate intervention in this regard.

Keywords:

• parental HIV/AIDS
• children
• cognitive ability
• rural China
• care arrangement

Acknowledgements

The study was supported by NIH Research Grants R01MH76488 and R01NR13466 by the National Institute of Nursing Research and National Institute of Mental Health. The content 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.