EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMS IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH HIV: A STUDY WITH THE YOUTH SELF REPORT AND THE CHILD BEHAVIOUR CHECKLIST

Children and adolescents with HIV are prone to neurological and psychological problems, not only due to the drugs they take, but also because of stigma, prejudice and discrimination that this disease frequently involves (New, Lee, & Elliot, 2007). Studies show that they present more behavioural and learning problems and reveal attention deficit (Armstrong et al., 1993; Brouwers et al., 1998). The main goal of this study was to assess emotional and behavioural problems of children and adolescents infected with HIV, those perceived by themselves and by their parents. The sample is composed of 15 children and adolescents with HIV (8 to 17 years old; 11 boys and 4 girls; M = 11.73 years old; SD = 3.43), recruited from the Infectious Diseases Consultation of the Portuguese Pediatric Hospital. Their parents completed the Child Behaviour Checklist (Achenbach, 1991) and adolescents answered the Youth Self Report (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1991). Among the domains assessed (behaviour, opposition/immaturity, aggressiveness, hyperactivity/attention, social problems, depression, somatic complaints, withdrawal, anxiety and obsessive/schizoid), and comparing with normative data, only 26.7% present behavioural problems, particularly in the opposition/immaturity domain. The lowest score was in the anxiety domain. When assessed by parents, adolescents 'behaviour did not significantly differ from childrens' behaviour. Results are discussed considering prevention and intervention in the mental health of children and adolescents with HIV, since emotional and behavioural problems can affect adaptation to the disease.