The resilience of children of HIV positive mothers with regard to the mother-child relationship

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe themes of resilience in the expressions and behaviours of six-year-old children with regard to the mother-child relationship, where the mothers are infected with HIV&AIDS. Themes of resilience were investigated within the framework of positive psychology. A study of limited scope was conducted from a phenomenological paradigm. I followed a mixed method methodological paradigm based on a case study design. I purposefully selected eleven six-year-old participants whose mothers are infected with HIV&AIDS from a five-year randomised control trail study (Kgolo Mmogo). Qualitative data collection methods included the transcriptions of structured baseline interviews relating to the Kinaesthetic Family Drawing (KFD), as well as the KFD per se. I utilised the scores from the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (Vineland) as uantitative data collection strategy. The transcriptions were analysed by means of an inductive thematic analysis. For the analysis of the KFD I developed and piloted a framework of analysis. The raw scores from the Vineland were compared with the appropriate age norms and compared with themes of resilience identified from the KFD as well as the transcripts of the interviews. I identified both internal and external resources of resilience. The findings of my study illustrate the presence of themes of resilience as well as non-resilience within the participants and the mother-child relationships. More factors of resilience (protective factors) than non-resilience (risk factors) were identified. Secondly, it seems possible to use the KFD with the Vineland when exploring resilience as insights from both mother and child participants are measured. The integrated results from the different data sources indicate that although the results of the KFD and the transcriptions did not correlate with the results obtained from the Vineland, the results from the different data sources supplement one another. The use of the KFD as a measure to generate data related to resilience made it possible to evaluate adaptation and resilience in a specific cultural context unlike the Vineland. The results from the data sources indicate resilience and/or non-resilience in the mother-child relationship in terms of three categories namely, protective factors (Expressive Language Skills, Interpersonal Relationships and Play and Leisure Time), risk factors (Coping Skills and Gross Motor Skills) and a balance between protective and risk factors (Receptive Language, Daily Living Skills, personal and domestic, as well as Fine Motor Skills). It is feasible to use the KFD as a measure to identify themes of resilience and non-resilience when the drawing is accompanied by an interview.