TITLE:
The Relationship between the Diagnosis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Executive Functions in School Age Children
AUTHORS:
Mariana M. Pino Melgarejo, Jorge A. Herrera Pino, Norella S. Jubiz Bassi
KEYWORDS:
Executive Functions, HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Children
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.6 No.5,
April
14,
2015
ABSTRACT: The human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects not only adults, but also children, many of
whom are infected in the perinatal period and suffer the consequences
throughout their development. One of the areas of cognition frequently
adversely affected by the presence of HIV is intellectual functioning. However,
although conceptually akin to intelligence, executive functions encompass a
wider range of abilities and skills. The purpose of this study was to determine
if executive functions, as such, are impaired in children who are HIV infected.
A sample of 60 children between the ages of 6 and 12 years participated in this
study. The performance of 30 HIV infected children in an instrument designed
for the assessment of executive functions in school age children (ENFEN) was
compared with the performance of a group of 30 healthy controls, matched for
age, gender, and socio-economic status. The results revealed impairments in HIV
infected children across all executive functions assessed.