Psychosocial Correlates and Coping Strategies Associated With Long-Term Survival of HIV-Infected Children

Launched by NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE (NCI) · Dec 9, 2002

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

Children and adolescents with HIV/AIDS are living well beyond the life expectancy that was projected for them in the recent past. Little is known about the psychosocial variables that coincide with long-term survival of HIV/AIDS. This longitudinal study will examine the psychosocial factors and adaptive coping strategies associated with long-term survival of HIV/AIDS and how these factors change over a period of three years. In addition, data will be collected from the primary caretakers on both their own and their perceptions of their child's adjustment and coping. Subjects will include ch...

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• • All children who have been infected, either vertically or through transfusion, for at least 8 years as of January 1, 1995 and who are enrolled in one of the HIV clinical protocols on the Pediatric Branch of the National Cancer Institute will be invited to participate in the study. The primary caregivers of the child will be asked to provide additional information about the family and themselves.
• • Children who are unaware of their diagnosis will be excluded from the study as it would not be possible to ascertain their own perceptions as to how they have been coping with their disease. Children who are unable to understand and complete the measures being used due to cognitive deficits will not be administered those measures. This excludes all children whose current cognitive abilities fall 2 standard deviations or more below the normal range of cognitive functioning according to the Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ). If a child's cognitive abilities fall below this criterion after the first data collections point (for example, if they become encephalopathic), we will not collect data from the child but we will continue to collect data from the caretaker. Care providers and children who cannot understand English will also be excluded from the study.