Impact of Parentification on Long-Term Outcomes Among Children of Parents With HIV/AIDS

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2007.00214.x Byline: JUDITH A. STEIN ([dagger]), MARY JANE ROTHERAM-BORUS ([double dagger]), PATRICIA LESTER ([double dagger]) Keywords: Parentification; Parents With AIDS; Adaptive Coping; Parental Death Abstract: Stein, Riedel, and Rotheram-Borus reported in 1999 that early parentification predicted maladaptive outcomes of more emotional distress, substance use, and conduct problems among adolescents of parents with HIV/AIDS (PWH) 6 months later. The current study assessed the adolescents (N=213) 6 years later to assess whether there were continuing negative effects of parentification, or, rather, if there were some positive outcomes. Although the premature assumption of parental roles had negative effects in the short term, we hypothesized that such skills may have been adaptive in the long run, especially in the case of adolescents with major stressors in their lives, including dying or ill parents, impoverished environments, and family instability. We found that early parentification predicted better adaptive coping skills and less alcohol and tobacco use 6 years later. In addition, early parentification was not associated with later emotional distress and dysfunctional parenting attitudes, including expecting role reversals in their own children. Author Affiliation: ([dagger])Department of Psychology, UCLA. ([double dagger])Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA.