Impact of teacher depression on the school loneliness of children affected by HIV/AIDS: A multilevel study in rural China

Background: School success is especially important for children who have parents affected by HIV. However, little is known about the impact of teachers’ mental health on children’s school experiences. The current study examines whether teachers’ depressive symptoms impact the school loneliness of children affected by parental HIV.

Methods: Data was derived from a longitudinal study of well-being of children affected by HIV in rural China. The sample consisted of 247 children affected by HIV and 44 teachers. Of the children, 121 children were living with HIV-positive parents and 126 children had lost one or both parents. Children completed a survey with demographic information and a school loneliness measure. Teachers completed a questionnaire about their own depressive symptoms.

Results: Multilevel analyses using hierarchical linear modeling indicate that teachers’ depressive symptom and children’s orphan status interacted to affect children’s school loneliness. Children living with HIV-positive parents reported more school loneliness when their teachers had more depressive symptoms, compared with children who had lost a parent.

Conclusions: This study has multiple implications. First, the mental health status of teachers is important to consider for interventions to improve the school experience of children affected by HIV. Second, the results are consistent with previous findings that children living with HIV-positive parents are more at risk than children who have adjusted to the loss of a parent to AIDS. Thus, public health measures to promote mental health in schools need to take into account the unique context and well-being of both teachers and students.