A longitudinal examination of the effect of HIV on parenting and child adjustment in African American families

Over the last decade, infection rates of HIV and AIDS have increased dramatically in minority communities. The impact of a traumatic event such as maternal HIV infection is hypothesized to disrupt a mother's ability to monitor her children and provide the structure and nurturance necessary for positive child outcome. This study was designed to examine the longitudinal impact of maternal HIV infection on parenting and child outcome within African American families.; Participants (n = 193) were African American women and one of their children recruited from the inner-city neighborhoods of New Orleans, Louisiana. The dyads were followed over three data assessments. It was hypothesized that parenting (parent-child relationship, monitoring, structure) would mediate the relationship between Maternal HIV Status and Child Adjustment (Internalizing, Externalizing, Competency).; Statistical analyses did not support the hypotheses. Exploratory analyses found statistically significant evidence, however, for a longitudinal relationship between Maternal HIV Status and child-reported depression and that this association was mediated by the parent-child relationship. It was determined that the lack of findings overall was due to the insensitivity of the dichotomous predictor variable, the attrition of more medically-ill mothers, and the relatively small sample size.