Identity Development in Adolescents Living with HIV In Brazzaville(Congo).pdf

1、Theformation ofa sense ofidentity is considered by many theorists to be the primary developmental goal ofthe adolescent years(Adams et aL，1992).Erikson 6950)described adolescence as the period in the lifespan during whic

2、h an individual must establish a sense ofpersonal identity and avoid the dangers of identity diffusion and role confusion.Crisis/exploration refers to the time during adolescence when the individual actively examines dev

3、elopmental opportunities and identity issues.Commitment pertains to the extent that the individual is personally involved in，and expresses allegiance to,self-chosen aspirations,goals,values,beliefs,and occupation. With

4、the ARV treatment,the lifespan ofchildren with HIv is increasing and they are living healthier lives.As consequences,they now have the opportunity to reach pre-adolescence,adolescence and even early adulthood.Indeed astr

5、ansition time is recognize as difficult period,adolescence period with many changes which come along with might be a very challenging time for adolescentsliving with HIV.Thus the importance of this study which aimed to t

6、ry to understand how this step(adolescence period)is lived out in these adolescentsespecially how HIVcan affect the most important andprimary task ofthatperiodnamely developing an identity. This study used two design ap

7、proaches qualitative and quantitative and endeavored to answer the following research question：How does the presence ofHIV／AIDS affect the identity development ofadolescents? A group of 100 adolescents livin9 with HIV/A

8、IDS aged 13-22 participated in thestudy which intend to explore the experiences of living with HIV/AIDS and howthe identityformation may be affected by it. The collection of data was done by using the Extended Objective

9、 Measure of EgoIdentity Status(EOM-EIS)for quantitative data and the Open Ended Interviewfor qualitative.The analysis of quantitative data was done through the use ofSPSS software and the qualitative data were coded,gath

10、ered by questions and categorized into four themes to look across differences and consistencies of participant's life stories. The results showed that participan ts had a strong sense of negative self-image and using th

11、e EOMS-EIS,61.11％ofparticipantsfell into diffusion status,20.37％fell intoforeclosure status and 18.51％ fell into moratorium status. This research contributed to health professionals and caregivers-further understandin9

12、of the physical psychological,and emotional impact that lwing with HIV/AIDS had on the adolescents especially on their self-concept and self-esteem.The findings highlighted the importance ofproviding holistic care that a

13、ddressed,and was responsive to the undue needs of these adolescents in order to lessen the negative impact of the experiences on the identity development in making more effective care services in order to make positive c