Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The neural mechanism of resilience-based intervention enhancing AIDS orphans’ psychosocial resources: preliminary findings

  • Published:
Current Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Resilience-based interventions can improve positive psychosocial resources for vulnerable children. However, it is unclear about the neural mechanism of how psychosocial resources are enhanced by resilience-based intervention in AIDS orphans. To fill this gap, we designed a six-week resilience-based intervention for twenty AIDS orphans raised in institutions (age:15.75 ± 1.97). The efficacy of the intervention was evaluated by employing a pre- and post-intervention study design, with multilevel estimations at the baseline and completion phase, and a follow-up behavioral estimation 8 months afterward. We found that AIDS orphans’ optimism about the future (p = .01) and perceived teachers’ support (p = .02) increased significantly after resilience-based intervention, these gains were still maintained after 8-months. Moreover, the changes in optimism about future could be predicted by both intervention-caused alterations and baselines of the amplitude of low frequency fluctuations in putamen; the changes in perceived teachers’ support could be predicted by both intervention-caused alterations and baselines of the amplitude of low frequency fluctuations in postcentral gyrus. These findings indicated the potential intervention-specific neural changes in AIDS orphans along with the improvement of psychosocial resource. Our study contributed to optimizing the person-centered treatment and advancing the precision mental health of vulnerable children.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to them containing information that could compromise research participant privacy.

References

  • Barry, M. M., Clarke, A. M., Jenkins, R., & Patel, V. (2013). A systematic review of the effectiveness of mental health promotion interventions for young people in low and middle income countries. BMC public health, 13(1), 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Betancourt, T. S., Meyers-Ohki, S. E., Charrow, A., & Hansen, N. (2013). Annual research review: Mental health and resilience in HIV/AIDS-affected children–a review of the literature and recommendations for future research. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(4), 423–444.

  • Boyes, M. E., & Cluver, L. D. (2015). Relationships between familial HIV/AIDS and symptoms of anxiety and depression: The mediating effect of bullying victimization in a prospective sample of south african children and adolescents. Journal of youth and adolescence, 44(4), 847–859.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chahal, R., Gotlib, I. H., & Guyer, A. E. (2020). Research Review: Brain network connectivity and the heterogeneity of depression in adolescence–a precision mental health perspective. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61(12), 1282–1298.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chi, P., & Li, X. (2013). Impact of parental HIV/AIDS on children’s psychological well-being: A systematic review of global literature. AIDS and Behavior, 17(7), 2554–2574.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cluver, L., Gardner, F., & Operario, D. (2007). Psychological distress amongst AIDS-orphaned children in urban South Africa. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 48(8), 755–763.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cluver, L. D., Orkin, M., Gardner, F., & Boyes, M. E. (2012). Persisting mental health problems among AIDS-orphaned children in South Africa. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53(4), 363–370.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cooley-Strickland, M. R., Griffin, R. S., Darney, D., Otte, K., & Ko, J. (2011). Urban african american youth exposed to community violence: A school-based anxiety preventive intervention efficacy study. Journal of prevention & intervention in the community, 39(2), 149–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dray, J., Bowman, J., Freund, M., Campbell, E., Wolfenden, L., Hodder, R. K., & Wiggers, J. (2014). Improving adolescent mental health and resilience through a resilience-based intervention in schools: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials, 15, 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraser, E., & Pakenham, K. I. (2008). Evaluation of a resilience-based intervention for children of parents with mental illness. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 42(12), 1041–1050.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garmezy, N., Masten, A. S., & Tellegen, A. (1984). The study of stress and competence in children: A building block for developmental psychopathology. Child development, 97–111.

  • Greenberg, M. T. (2010). Promoting resilience in children and youth. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1094(1), 139–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, S. E., Li, X., Zhang, J., Zhao, J., & Zhao, G. (2019). A randomized controlled trial of a resilience-based intervention for children affected by parental HIV: Educational outcomes at 24-, 30-, and 36-months. School Psychology International, 39(2), 170–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haruno, M., & Kawato, M. (2006). Different neural correlates of reward expectation and reward expectation error in the putamen and caudate nucleus during stimulus-action-reward association learning. Journal of neurophysiology, 95(2), 948–959.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herbert, H. S., & Manjula, M. (2022). Resilience based intervention to promote mental health of college students: A preliminary feasibility study from India. Mental Health & Prevention, 26, 200239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jafarizadeh, H., Zhiyani, E., Aghakhani, N., Alinejad, V., & Moradi, Y. (2017). Effect of resilience-based intervention on occupational stress among nurses. World Family Medicine Journal: Incorporating the Middle East Journal of Family Medicine, 99(5548), 1–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jiang, Y. (2019). Evaluating impacts of a Multilevel Resilience-Based psychosocial intervention on Mental Health. of Children Affected by Parental HIV in China.

  • Karimli, L., Ssewamala, F. M., Neilands, T. B., Wells, C. R., & Bermudez, L. G. (2019). Poverty, economic strengthening, and mental health among AIDS orphaned children in Uganda: Mediation model in a randomized clinical trial. Social Science & Medicine, 228, 17–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kunimatsu, J., Maeda, K., & Hikosaka, O. (2019). The caudal part of putamen represents the historical object value information. Journal of Neuroscience, 39(9), 1709–1719.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lai, H., Wang, S., Zhao, Y., Qiu, C., & Gong, Q. (2020). Neurostructural correlates of optimism: Gray matter density in the putamen predicts dispositional optimism in late adolescence. Human brain mapping, 41(6), 1459–1471.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, S. J., Detels, R., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., & Duan, N. (2007). The effect of social support on mental and behavioral outcomes among adolescents with parents with HIV/AIDS. American Journal of Public Health, 97(10), 1820–1826.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Li, X., Chi, P., Sherr, L., Cluver, L., & Stanton, B. (2015). Psychological resilience among children affected by parental HIV/AIDS: A conceptual framework. Health psychology and behavioral medicine, 3(1), 217–235.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Li, X., Harrison, S. E., Fairchild, A. J., Chi, P., Zhao, J., & Zhao, G. (2017). A randomized controlled trial of a resilience-based intervention on psychosocial well-being of children affected by HIV/AIDS: Effects at 6-and 12-month follow-up. Social Science & Medicine, 190, 256–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, X., Qiao, S., Yang, X., Harrison, S. E., Tam, C. C., Shen, Z., & Zhou, Y. (2022). A resilience-based intervention to mitigate the effect of HIV-related stigma: Protocol for a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 857635.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, J., Ren, L., Womer, F. Y., Wang, J., Fan, G., Jiang, W., & Wang, F. (2014). Alterations in amplitude of low frequency fluctuation in treatment-naïve major depressive disorder measured with resting-state fMRI. Human Brain Mapping, 35(10), 4979–4988.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mascaro, J. S., Rilling, J. K., Negi, L. T., & Raison, C. L. (2012). Pre-existing brain function predicts subsequent practice of mindfulness and compassion meditation. Neuroimage, 69(4), 35–42.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic. Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227–238.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S., & Coatsworth, J. D. (1998). The development of competence in favorable and unfavorable environments: Lessons from research on successful children. American Psychologist, 53(2), 205–220.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchelson, M. R., Erskine, H. E., Ramirez, E., Suleman, F., Prasad-Ildes, R., Siskind, D., & Harris, M. (2010). BRiTA Futures: A resilience-building program for children and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds–program description and preliminary findings. Advances in Mental Health, 9(3), 243–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morse, J. M., Kent-Marvick, J., Barry, L. A., Harvey, J., Okang, E. N., Rudd, E. A., & Williams, M. R. (2021). Developing the resilience framework for nursing and healthcare. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 8, 23333936211005475.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Pan, W., Liu, C., Yang, Q., Gu, Y., Yin, S., & Chen, A. (2016). The neural basis of trait self-esteem revealed by the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and resting state functional connectivity. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 11(3), 367–376.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ramkissoon, H. (2020). COVID-19 place confinement, pro-social, pro-environmental behaviors, and residents’ wellbeing: A new conceptual framework. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2248.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ramkissoon, H. (2021a). Place affect interventions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 726685.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ramkissoon, H. (2021b). Body-mind medicine interventions in COVID-19 place confinement for mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine, 6(2), 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramkissoon, H. (2022a). Prosociality in times of separation and loss. Current opinion in Psychology, 45, 101290.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ramkissoon, H. (2022b). COVID-19 adaptive interventions: Implications for wellbeing and quality-of-life. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 810951.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sandman, C. F., Young, K. S., Burklund, L. J., Saxbe, D. E., Lieberman, M. D., & Craske, M. G. (2020). Changes in functional connectivity with cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder predict outcomes at follow-up. Behaviour research and therapy, 129, 103612.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Tabibnia, G., & Radecki, D. (2018). Resilience training that can change the brain. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 70(1), 59–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tam, C. C., Li, X., Benotsch, E. G., & Lin, D. (2020). A resilience-based intervention programme to enhance psychological well‐being and protective factors for rural‐to‐urban migrant children in China. Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being, 12(1), 53–76.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, T., Ahmed, Y., Tan, M., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2020). Cognitive and Educational Interventions for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Affected by HIV/AIDS: A Meta-Analysis. Child Development.

  • Ungar, M., & Theron, L. (2020). Resilience and mental health: How multisystemic processes contribute to positive outcomes. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(5), 441–448.

  • Wang, M., Cai, B., Wu, Y., & Dai, X. (2010). The factor structure of Chinese Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale affected by item statement method. Psychological Exploration, 30(117), 60–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yan, C., & Zang, Y. (2010). DPARSF: A MATLAB toolbox for “pipeline” data analysis of resting-state fMRI. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 4.

  • Yang, Y., & Wang, D. (2007). Retest the bidimensional model of Rosenberg Self-esteem scale. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 21(9), 603–609.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yin, S., Zhu, X., Li, R., Niu, Y., Wang, B., Zheng, Z., & Li, J. (2014). Intervention-induced enhancement in intrinsic brain activity in healthy older adults. Scientific Reports, 4(2), 7309–7309.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zang, Y. F., He, Y., Zhu, C. Z., Cao, Q. J., Sui, M. Q., Liang, M., & Wang, Y. F. (2007). Altered baseline brain activity in children with ADHD revealed by resting-state functional MRI. Brain and Development, 29(2), 83–91.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, J., Zhao, G., Li, X., Hong, Y., Fang, X., Barnett, D., & Zhang, L. (2009). Positive future orientation as a mediator between traumatic events and mental health among children affected by HIV/AIDS in rural China. AIDS care, 21(12), 1508–1516.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zimet, G. D., Powell, S. S., Farley, G. K., Werkman, S., & Berkoff, K. A. (1990). Psychometric characteristics of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Journal of personality assessment, 55(3–4), 610–617.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank all the participants and all research collaborators from Beijing Normal University, Tsinghua University, China University of Geosciences, University of Amsterdam, Radboud University and Nanyang Technological University. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32071076).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing, 100875, China

    Xinyu Gong & Danhua Lin

  2. Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Yinan Wang

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Shuang Su

  4. Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands

    Pei-Ying Zuo

  5. School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yu Bu

  6. Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100091, China

    Jia Liu

  7. Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100091, China

    Jia Liu

  8. School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Bobby Cheon

  9. Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore

    Bobby Cheon

Authors
  1. Xinyu Gong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yinan Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shuang Su
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Pei-Ying Zuo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yu Bu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jia Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Bobby Cheon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Danhua Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Xinyu Gong: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Writing-original draft. Yinan Wang: Data curation, Methodology, Writing-review & editing. Shuang Su: Investigation, Data Curation. Peiying Zuo: Investigation, Data Curation. Yu Bu: Investigation, Data Curation. Jia Liu: Conceptualization, Writing-review & editing. Bobby Cheon: Conceptualization, Writing-review & editing. Danhua Lin: Conceptualization, Project administration, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing-review & editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Danhua Lin.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Procedures were approved by the Medical Ethics Committee.

Interest statement

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gong, X., Wang, Y., Su, S. et al. The neural mechanism of resilience-based intervention enhancing AIDS orphans’ psychosocial resources: preliminary findings. Curr Psychol 43, 9602–9612 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05074-2

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05074-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation