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Adolescents' experiences of living with HIV and AIDS.

A growing body of research exists that examines the nature of
i n tervent ions aimed at educa ting adolescents in t e rms of HIV and AIDS
(Campbell, 2003; Campbell & McPhail, 2002; Van Dyk, 2001). However,
there appears to be a grave pauci ty of l i t e rature that explor es the impact
of HIV and AIDS on adolescents’ psychological and emotional
functioning. Adolescents who live in the af t e rmath following the death of
a parent, or parents often have to deal with rejection from thei r
community, and are often confronted with significant emo t ional,
educa tional and psycho-social challenges. These cha llenges continue to
pose enormous threat to the development of a healthy s e lf-concept (Foster
& Germann, 2002). These adolescents continue to be marginalized as their
voices remain largely s i l e n t in contemporar y research .
Using a combination of Art therapy, and narr ative creation, twenty-eight
adolescents participated in a group intervention intended to facilitate,
empower and encourage meaning making processes, and to f ac i l i t at e both
oral and wr i t ten communica tion about the i r exper iences of living wi th
HIV and AIDS. Findings suggest that while adolescents living with HIV
and AIDS continue to have significant emotional, physiological, and
social cha l lenges on a daily basis, their stories espouse great hope,
determination and resilience.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/7014
Date11 June 2009
CreatorsBlack, Linda Anne
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Formatapplication/pdf, application/pdf

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