Stress and dysfunction in families caring for members physically deteriorating due to HIV/Aids in Limpopo Province : resilience as a moderating factor

Abstract

The study aims at assessing the stress and dysfunction among families affected by the sudden reality of experiencing physically deteriorating family members due to HIV/AIDS progression, and to identify resilience factors that moderate the impact. Three-hundred and sixteen families were conveniently selected to participate in this study. The experimental group of the HIV/AIDS affected families (n=122), with two control groups of families caring for family members ailing because of a non- HIV/AIDS physical ailment (n=132) and the families not involved in the caring of any family member (n=62). Family resilience and stress questionnaires were used to collect the data. Family resilience questionnaires included Family Hardiness Index (FHI), Social Support Index (SSI), Relative and Friend Support (RFS), F-COPES, Family Time and Routine Index (FTRI), Family Problem Solving Communication (FPSC) Family Attachment and Changeability Index 8 (FACI 8). The family caregiver stress was measured by the Relative Stress Scale. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis were used to determine the moderating effect of the family qualities on the stress levels, and specific qualities unique in the families that bounce back. Stress was found to be high in the HIV/AIDS affected families when compared with the control families. Furthermore, the demographic information indicated that more stress was experienced in the HIV/AIDS affected families with a younger sick member and in poor economic conditions as well as when the sick person was a breadwinner. This indicated that stress elevation in the HIV/AIDS affected families was a function of economic conditions in the families and that caregivers may have experienced stress due to lack of proper resources and the stress of having sympathy for a young sick person who was expected to have a long life ahead of him or her. Social support (SSI), relative and friend support (RFS), and spending time together and engaging in similar routine collectively (FTRI) were found to moderate stress in HIV/AIDS affected families.

Further research is needed to highlight the dynamics and the relationship with stress elevation around the new trend of HIV/AIDS infection of the younger age group as well as the economic burden or the impact of lack of resources in caring for the infected. More in-depth research must also be done with an emphasis on the dynamics between stigmatisation, stress moderation and resilience of families using more diverse families engaging in various caregiving situations of sick family members within various ecological and socio economic conditions.