Table 1.
Demographic characteristics
| All (N = 681)a | Foster children (N = 119) | Non-fostered children (N = 552) | Test statistic t(669) or X2 p |
Cohen’s d (95 % CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child characteristics, n (%) unless otherwise noted | |||||
| Age, mean (SD) | 13.60 (2.19) | 13.95 (2.28) | 13.53 (2.16) | t = −1.93 p = .054 |
0.19 (−.004, .39) |
| Female | 346 (51.56) | 60 (50.42) | 286 (51.81) |
X2 = .08 p = .78 |
−0.03 (−.25, .19) |
| Attending school | 602 (90.25) | 110 (94.02) | 492 (89.45) |
X2 = 2.28 p = .13 |
0.34 (−.11, .79) |
| HIV-positive | 218 (32.01) | 82 (68.91) | 132 (23.91) |
X2 = 91.24 p <.001 |
1.08 (.84, 1.32) |
| HIV-affected | 228 (33.48) | 20 (16.81) | 205 (37.14) |
X2 = 18.16 p <.001 |
0.59 (.31, .87) |
| Unaffected | 235 (34.51) | 17 (14.29) | 215 (38.95) |
X2 = 26.33 p <.001 |
0.74 (1.04, .44) |
| Any caregiver death | 190 (28.66) | 72 (61.02) | 118 (21.65) |
X2 = 73.52 p <.001 |
0.96 (.72, 1.19) |
| Mother diedb | 54 (8.02) | 29 (24.58) | 23 (4.22) |
X2 = 55.61 p <.001 |
1.1 (.78, 1.43) |
| Father diedb | 137 (20.33) | 41 (34.75) | 93 (17.03) |
X2 = 18.90 p <.001 |
0.53 (.28, .77) |
| Caregiver abandonment | 55 (8.20) | 11 (9.48) | 42 (7.69) |
X2 = 0.42 p = .52 |
0.01 (−.37, .39) |
| Caregiver characteristics, n (%) unless otherwise noted | |||||
| Age, mean (SD) | 44.63 (11.35) | 50.55 (18.69) | 43.41 (8.57) | t = −6.40 p <.001 |
0.65 (.45, .85) |
| Female | 542 (79.59) | 100 (84.03) | 433 (78.44) |
X2 = 1.87 p = .17 |
0.2 (−.09, .50) |
| SES, mean (SD) | .003 (1.00) | .18 (1.12) | −.04 (.97) | t(667) = −2.24 p = .03 |
0.23 (.03, .42) |
| Relative of foster child | – | 103 (86.55) | – | ||
| Ever attended school | 477 (70.04) | 42 (35.29) | 190 (34.42) |
X2 = .03 p = .86 |
0.01 (−.14, .16)) |
| Married/living with partner | 326 (47.94) | 44 (36.97) | 279 (50.64) |
X2 = 7.31 p = .007 |
−0.31 (−.53, −.08) |
| # Children in household, mean (SD) | 4.30 (1.85) | 3.72 (2.05) | 4.42 (1.78) | t = 3.80 p <.001 |
0.38 (.19, .58) |
| Mental health, mean (SD) | 1.09 (.63) | .96 (.60) | 1.11 (.64) | t = 2.43 p = .02 |
0.25 (.05, .44) |
| Child mental health outcomes, mean (SD) | |||||
| Depression | 29.58 (18.45) | 32.71 (18.58) | 28.94 (18.35) | t = −2.03 p = .04 |
0.21 (.01, .40) |
| Anxiety | .59 (.46) | .70 (.50) | .57 (.45) | t = −3.02 p = .003 |
0.31 (.11, .50) |
| Conduct problems | .38 (.54) | .41 (.56) | .37 (.54) | t = −0.77 p = .44 |
0.08 (−.12, .28) |
| Irritability | 1.00 (.56) | 1.11 (.59) | .98 (.55) | t = −2.39 p = .02 |
0.24 (.04, .44) |
| Child reported parenting/household factors, mean (SD) | |||||
| Positive parenting | 2.38 (.54) | 2.23 (.63) | 2.42 (.52) | t = 3.42 p <.001 |
0.35 (.15, .54) |
| Psychological aggression | .50 (.50) | .61 (.49) | .47 (.50) | t = −2.83 p = .005 |
0.29 (.09, .48) |
| Physical punishment | .63 (.48) | .66 (.48) | .62 (.49) | t = −0.77 p = .44 |
0.08 (−.12, .28) |
| Family unity | 2.50 (.60) | 2.29 (.77) | 2.55 (.55) | t = 4.39 p <.001 |
0.44 (.24, .64) |
| Daily hardships | 3.11 (3.11) | 3.09 (3.04) | 3.10 (3.12) | t = .05 p = .96 |
0.005 (−.19, .20) |
a
Not all rows add up to 681 due to missing reports on some variables
b
These may be underestimates, as the response options only allowed children to report if either their mother or father had died, but not both. We are therefore also unable to report rates of double-orphans