Multilevel analysis of psychosocial functioning of Adolescents in families affected by HIV/AIDS in Benue state, Nigeria

Psychosocial functioning is increasing a public health priority issue among young people. Previous reports have focused on the effect of personal health conditions on the psychosocial well-being of children but contextual analysis of environmental or social factors could provide relevant information for interventions. In the context of HIV/AIDS, the present study examined the personal- and contextual-level predictors of Psychosocial Functioning Index (PFI) among adolescents in Benue state, Nigeria. Data on 2,276 adolescents was extracted from a cross-sectional study in Benue State for secondary analysis. The PFI was obtained using the final score of an existing scale (Adolescents Psychosocial Functioning Inventory). Participant’s characteristics were summarized using descriptive statistics and compared using Chi-square test. Multilevel logit models were used to assess the individual- and contextual-level predictors of the PFI of adolescents. A nominal p-value ≤0.05 was considered significant in all analyses. Participants were 14.77±2.04 years old and mostly female (53.9%). About 19% of the participants have single parents while 62.1% have self-employed mothers. Proportion with elevated PFI was significantly higher among adolescents who have self-employed mothers (84.4%) and alcohol/substance users (82.7%). In adjusted analysis, adolescents who reported alcohol/substance use (OR=1.65; 95%CI: 1.14 to 2.38) were twice more likely to have elevated psychosocial functioning index compared to non-users. The psychosocial functioning index is high among study participants and differs contextually. Adolescent’s psychosocial functioning depends on their life styles and parents’ marital and economic situations. Family empowerments and other family level intervention programmes will benefit adolescents in these categories.

Keywords
Psycho-social functioning; Adolescents; Psychosocial problems; Families affected by HIV/AIDS; Multilevel analysis; HIV/AIDS