Listening to the Voices of Children in Early Schooling in the South African Context of HIV/AIDS

This study explored how children in early schooling interpreted their social reality to construct vulnerable childhoods in an HIV/AIDS context. Ten males and ten females between the ages of eight and nine years from low-income families in KwaZulu-Natal participated in the study. In order to raise the voices of the children, a listening framework was created through participatory techniques. Focus group interviews, drawings, story telling and projection techniques were used in the study. The study found that children actively interpreted their social reality through engaging with circumstances that surrounded their lives in an HIV/AIDS context. Child activism is important to HIV/AIDS education.     

Doing Childhoods in the Context of HIV and AIDS: Young Children in Early Schooling Speak

This study investigated children's experiences and understandings of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Grade 3 children (n=31) from the province of KwaZulu-Natal aged between 8–11 years were participants in the study. Data were collected through a four-stage focus group process including activities such as diagrammatic mapping, drawing, timelines, projective techniques and ranking exercises. The findings suggest that the meanings children make about HIV and AIDS are contextual and situational. Moreover, the contexts in which children live act as power sites where struggles over meaning and meaning making occur.     

Researching HIV/AIDS,Education & Childhood in the African Context

This article offers a reflective review of 12 articles and 4 brief reports included in this special issue of the International Journal of Psychology in Africa with the theme, ‘HIV/AIDS, education and childhood in the African context’. Muthukrishna and Ramsuran (2007) have emphasised that the consequences of HIV/AIDS can be far-reaching for children and young people resulting in unequal life chances. It is thus fitting that this special issue should be edited by them in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in the country (and province) with the highest levels of incidence of HIV/AIDS in Africa. In this article I offer a commentary on how the interpretive lenses of the authors who are located in various disciplines provide a theorised understanding of what shapes knowledge constructions in situated African contexts.     

Unheard Voices: Experiences of Families Living with HIV/AIDS in India*

This study was aimed at understanding the impact of HIV on the family system in the Indian context. A sample of 20 families caring for a relative living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) was recruited from a HIV counseling clinic at the National Institute for Mental Health and Neuro Sciences and a respite home for PLWHAs in Bangalore City in southern India. Qualitative data were collected from these families using a semi-structured interview guide and recorded in the form of narratives. Analysis of these data revealed the following themes: Stigma and discrimination; disclosure; changes in family functioning; financial difficulties; fears of the family; and helplessness. Each theme was presented in detail and implications for intervention to help these families and their PLWHAs discussed. V.A.S. Krishna, PhD, MPE, Fogarty Funded Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108 (krishnavas@epi.wustl.edu). Ranbir S. Bhatti, PhD, Professor of Family Therapy, Montfort College, Bangalore, Former Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatric Social Work, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India 560029 (ranbirbhatti@yahoo.com). Prabha S. Chandra, MD, Additional Professor, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India 560029 (prabhachandra@rediffmail.com). Srilatha Juvva, PhD, Reader, Department of Family and Child Welfare, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, India 400088 (juvvas@tiss.edu). *The authors would like to thank all the PLWHAs and their family members for volunteering to be part of this study. Post-doctoral Fellowship support for Dr. V.A.S. Krishna from Fogarty Grant—TW05811 (LB Cottler, PI).     

An Evaluation of an HIV/AIDS Prevention Program in a Nigerian Setting

The study examined the success of a group based behavioural intervention with Nigerian youths aimed at reducing the risk of contracting and spreading HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted illness (STI). Participants were 147 youths (males=75, females=72, age range 5 to 24 years). The study explored the influence of motivational factors (self efficacy), attitudinal factors (perceived personal risk), knowledge (instrumental knowledge of AIDS) and behavioural factors (refusal of high-risk behaviour) in predicting condom use amongst youth participating in a group-based HIV prevention intervention. Findings indicated that the intervention program reliably predicted participants' attitudinal dispositions to high risk heterosexual behaviour. Instrumental knowledge of HIV/AIDS, perceived self-efficacy, perceived personal risk of HIV/AIDS and refusal of risk behaviour were significant predictors of condom use.     

Counseling to End an Epidemic: Revisiting the Ethics of HIV/AIDS

In the decades since HIV/AIDS was first identified, medical discoveries have advanced prevention and treatment, and shifting demographics have changed the face of the illness. Despite these changes, the counseling literature on HIV/AIDS and its ethical implications for counselors have remained limited and stagnant. Whereas past discussions have focused primarily on issues of confidentiality, this article addresses multiple ethical implications of HIV/AIDS to reflect current knowledge about the illness and its effects on clients.     

Gender as an Obstacle in HIV/AIDS Prevention: Considerations for the Development of HIV/AIDS Prevention Efforts for Male-to-Female Transgenders

SUMMARY

Social discourses regarding gender are responsible for molding people's cognitions, perceptions, behaviors, and interactions with others. Approaching and understanding gender socialization is an important strategy that must be included in the development of HIV/AIDS prevention intervention efforts targeting male-to-female (MTF) transgender people.

This paper represents an effort to identify the influence of gender construction among a group of MTF transgenders in Puerto Rico. Using combined methodology, authors examined results from a questionnaire and in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of MTF transgenders living in the San Juan metropolitan area.

Quantitative analysis demonstrated that this sample is composed of young, unemployed, and undereducated population. Many participated in the sex industry. Participants reported need for basic health and social services and alienation from social networks. Qualitative analysis confirmed their traditional social construction of the “feminine.” Their discourse underlines their need to reinforce their identity by the construction of a female self which undermines their possibilities for negotiating safer sex, as happens to most females in Latino societies.

Social vulnerability, institutional exclusion, and gender construction issues are obstacles for the HIV prevention efforts among these communities.     

大学生对艾滋病的乐观偏差

研究采用问卷法,以北京6所高校的278名被试为样本,考察了大学生对艾滋病的乐观偏差。结果表明,被试对艾滋病的感染和治愈存在着双重乐观偏差;艾滋病知识掌握程度既与感染艾滋病的乐观偏差无显著相关,也与治愈艾滋病的乐观偏差无显著相关。     

护理扩展培训在艾滋病干预模式中的探讨

新疆艾滋病形势严峻,艾滋病重点疫区的护理人员普遍存在着对艾滋病知识的缺乏,对艾滋病患者持有歧视、恐惧的心理及缺乏基本的防护知识等现状,艾滋病护理扩展培训项目的实施,通过对护理人员进行的艾滋病知识培训,对艾滋病干预模式进行了有益的探索和实践。     

Daily life with early orphanhood from HIV/AIDS: An exploratory study

This study explored the everyday lived life by South African early adolescents orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Informants were ten early adolescents (age range 12 to 14 years; females?=?6; males?=?4) from a low socioeconomic status neighbourhood of Johannesburg. The adolescents completed autobiographical essays and in-depth individual interviews on their quality of life in the school, home, and community. Thematic analysis of the data revealed the early adolescents, orphaned due to HIV/AIDS, to experience extreme sadness, anxiety, and fear. Their sense of emotional distress was compounded by living in material and relational poverty, with frequent exposure to bullying at school, and crime in their neighbourhood. Integrated psycho-social interventions addressing both material and relational poverty might enhance the physical and psycho-social well-being of adolescents with orphanhood from HIV/AIDS.     

艾滋病揭示的性别不公正

贫困妇女人群中HIV新发感染不成比例上升的现象揭示了社会中的性别不公正,通过美国和肯尼亚的案例说明,预防艾滋病需要认可和促进妇女的人权,减少针对妇女的暴力,并保障妇女的教育,普及艾滋病相关知识.对女性主义进行了重新阐释,并以南非"和平与和解"运动为例指明了新的前进方向.     

特殊人群艾滋病行为干预的思考

艾滋病直接危害人类的健康,也对社会、政治、经济及人文伦理道德产生重大的负面影响。对艾滋病病人犯罪的监管问题,公安干警的职业暴露问题,都是目前司法实践中遇到的新课题。加强艾滋病患者违法监管,对特殊群体进行行为干预,是司法结构急待解决问题。     

Subverting Culture: Promoting HIV/AIDS Prevention Among Puerto Rican and Dominican Women

This article discusses the challenges faced by researchers and interventionists when attempting to promote change in social norms and normative beliefs that promote HIV/AIDS risk-related behaviors among Puerto Rican and Dominican women. The article focuses on the role of culture in HIV/AIDS prevention with women by analyzing the sociohistorical context of some cultural beliefs and by illustrating the tension between risk-related and protective cultural beliefs in research conducted by the authors with women in both New York and Puerto Rico. The authors propose that promoting changes in sex-related social norms and normative beliefs might be constructed as a subversive act and present the challenge this analysis poses for community psychology. They conclude that this conceptualization might be construed as subversive because rather than idealizing culture, it promotes changes that respect diversity within the culture and foster participation in the development of new cultural values, beliefs and norms.     

(Teen)Age is More than a Number: Generational Identity within the Context of HIV and AIDS

This study explored some of the complexities through which young adults construct and represent their sexual identities within the context of HIV/AIDS. The sample comprised a total of 136 (female = 77; male = 59) Indian and African learners, who were between the ages 15–19 years, in a co-educational school in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The main methods of data collection employed were questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that most young people understand their teenage years as transitional, hormonal and necessarily experimental, and particularly with regard to sexual experimentation. The dominance of heterosexual morality and the transitional status of the adolescents appeared to erode young adults' power to act as responsible agents.     

山西省艾滋病防治政策分析

阐述了艾滋病在山西省流行的现状,探讨了艾滋病引发的社会问题,分析了艾滋病防治条例、四免一关怀政策以及艾滋病自愿咨询与检测制度的执行情况以及在执行过程中所存在的主要问题,研究了山西省艾滋病防治工作相关基金的来源和使用情况,针对山西省在艾滋病防治工作中存在的问题,提出了艾滋病防治工作与社区工作相结合的建议。     

Stigma and Ostracism Associated with HIV/AIDS: Children Carrying the Secret of Their Mothers' HIV+ Serostatus

Qualitative interviews were conducted with mothers (N = 47) who had disclosed their HIV status to their children. The majority of mothers explicitly told their child not to disclose to other people that she was HIV-positive because they feared repercussions in the way of stigma and ostracism for both themselves and their child. Approximately one-fourth of the mothers identified safe people, to whom their child could discuss her serostatus, such as family members, health care providers, or therapists. The majority of the children respected their mothers' wishes; only four children disclosed to someone after being explicitly told not to do so. A significant number of children expressed concerns about their friends finding out, fearing that they would be ostracized or that it would be assumed they were also infected. In addition, the children did not want others to find out because they wanted to protect their mothers. The burden of keeping the secret of their mothers' serostatus does seem to be a stressor for some of the children.     

HIV/AIDS in scottish prisons: Attitudes of staff and prisoners

Abstract

Prison is commonly regarded as a high risk environment for the transmission of HIV/AIDS. Five hundred and fifty-nine prisoners and 591 prison staff sampled from 8 Scottish prisons completed questionnaires concerning attitudes towards various issues of HIVIAIDS. A majority of prisoners and prison staff expressed liberal attitudes with respect to HIV/AIDS. For both staff and prisoners, the most liberal responses were to items dealing with personal and social contact with people with HIVIAIDS. A majority of prisoners and prison staff expressed conservative attitudes in relation to screening of individuals for HIV. With regard to differences between prisoners and prison staff, prisoners were more supportive than prison staff of the provision of free condoms to homosexuals and free condoms and syringes to intravenous drug users, and the provision of free medical care to both groups in the case of AIDS. Among the prisoner sample, intravenous drug users, in comparison to non-users, were found to be more positive in their attitudes toward HIVIAIDS on a wide range of issues. The implications of the study for health psychology are discussed with regard to prisoner and prison staff educational needs and prisoner management.     

Culture at the Heart of Coping with HIV/AIDS

This study explored the manner in which a South African informal community coped with living with HIV/AIDS by relying on existing assets and local resources. A case study research design applying participatory reflection and action principles was used. Focus group/workshop sessions were conducted with ten selected female educators from the community. In addition, individual interviews with stakeholders and other members of the community (n=31, males=6, females=25) were also carried out. Supplemental data collection methods included observation, visual techniques, field notes and a reflective journal. The study found that community members coped with HIV/AIDS by relying on culture and family, faith in God, religiosity and prayer. Inner strength, hope, optimism and expectancy appeared to be key resources for informal settlement residents.     

Counseling Caregivers of Families Affected by HIV/AIDS: The Use of Narrative Therapy

This article proposes the use of Narrative Therapy with family caregivers of family members diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. The authors identify the reasons for using Narrative Therapy with African family caregivers who have relocated to the United States of America. The tenets of Narrative Therapy are outlined, and a case illustration is provided to show how Narrative Therapy can be implemented. In this case study, the client moves from a state of helplessness and hopelessness to being able to regain control of her life and improve the care of her sister. She was able to re-write her story: from feeling incompetent to a position of strength. Although Narrative Therapy was used successfully with an African family caregiver within the USA, the authors assert that the interventions have the potential to be used as effectively with those clients living in Africa, provided counselors are sensitive to cultural differences that will affect their practice.     

Using the Theory of Gender and Power to Examine Experiences of Partner Violence,Sexual Negotiation,and Risk of HIV/AIDS Among Economically Disadvantaged Women in Southern India

This article uses the Theory of Gender and Power to examine women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS in order to: understand the vulnerability of female sex workers/poor women due to poverty and lack of educational resources; explore women's vulnerability in the context of client/partner violence, alcohol use, male partner's high-risk behaviors, and women's lack of control in their intimate relationships; and explore the role of traditional heterosexual gender norms in the outcomes of sexual negotiation. Ethnographic data were collected from 32 women and 38 men in India as part of an ongoing National Institute of Mental Health study. Results highlighted women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS stemming from partner violence, alcohol use, poverty, dangers of sex work environments, and tacit acceptance of cultural/gender norms.