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.     

Perceived parental involvement and well-being among Ethiopian adolescents

This study examined the relationship between perceived parent academic socialisation of their children and the children’s well-being in four domains: depression, self-esteem, school adjustment, and substance use. The participants consisted of 809 Ethiopian high school students, mostly male (52.9%) (mean age = 16.8 years; SD = 1.58 years). Data were collected using self-report measures of perceived parental involvement in education support, depression, self-esteem, school adjustment, and substance use. Multiple regression analyses were used to predict aspects of child well-being from parent child academic socialisation. Generally, results showed that increased level of parental academic socialisation predicted lower depression symptoms, school adjustment problems, substance use, and also increased self-esteem among adolescents.     

Perceived parental warmth and adjustment among Ethiopian adolescents

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between adolescents’ perception of parental warmth and their self-esteem, school adjustment and depression symptoms. Data were collected from 809 adolescents (female=47%; mean age=16.8 years; SD=1.58) from four different high schools in Ethiopia. The data were analysed for differences in perceived parental warmth and adjustment by gender. Results suggest higher levels of parental warmth to be associated with comparatively lower school adjustment and depressive symptoms as well as higher self-esteem in girls rather than boys. A gendered effect seems to explain parent warmth influences of the personal and school adjustment of Ethiopian adolescents.