Those who are born from a mother who is HIV positive but do not contract the virus themselves are often referred to as HIV affected.
The focus of this study was understanding the patterns of attachment style for this sample of affected youth, aged 8-18 years. Sixty participants completed a survey packet examining their attachment style, parentification, and mental health outcomes along with their HIV positive parent’s responses on the BSI-18, demands of illness inventory, and a demographic questionnaire.
Results showed that while attachment style was significantly predictive of same of the outcome measures, it only accounted for a low amount of the variance in the mental health outcomes when the other factors were entered into the model. Future directions and limitations are also reviewed.