Social and mental health characteristics of adolescents living with HIV in Mexico: Implications for adherence to antiretroviral treatment

Mexico is the third Latin American country with the most children and adolescents living with human immunodeficiency virus (ALHIV). There is a lack of information on the characteristics of this population. We aimed to describe the social and mental health characteristics of Mexican ALHIV. A census w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health psychology 2024-03, Vol.29 (4), p.289-302
Main Authors: Arroyo-Jiménez, Cointa, Benjet, Corina, Robles, Rebeca, Caballero-Suárez, Nancy Patricia, Gálvez-Hernández, Carmen Lizette, Ordoñez-Ortega, Javier, Suárez-Maldonado, Marco Tulio, Xochihua, Luis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adherence
Adolescents
Antiretroviral therapy
Biological markers
Caregivers
Censuses
Demography
Discomfort
Forgetfulness
Health problems
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus
Intellectual disabilities
Intelligence
Life events
Medical treatment
Mental disorders
Mental health
Sociodemographics
Substance abuse
Teenagers
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Summary:Mexico is the third Latin American country with the most children and adolescents living with human immunodeficiency virus (ALHIV). There is a lack of information on the characteristics of this population. We aimed to describe the social and mental health characteristics of Mexican ALHIV. A census was conducted of all adolescent patients with HIV at a pediatric hospital (n = 47; mean age 14.39, S.D. = 3.65) and their caregivers. We collected data on socio-demographic characteristics, family, intelligence, mental health, adverse life events, substance use, treatment, knowledge of Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) and HIV, and biomarkers. Most cases were transmitted vertically and self-reported ART adherence was above 90%. Some obstacles to adherence were medicine discomfort, believing that they did not need it, and forgetfulness. The vulnerabilities were intellectual disability, adverse life events, possible mental health problems, and little knowledge of their illness and treatment. These findings suggest the importance of interventions to improve the perception and knowledge of HIV and ART to increase ART adherence.
ISSN:1359-1053
1461-7277
DOI:10.1177/13591053231207474