Social support and stress of kin caregivers of orphaned children in A ddis A baba, E thiopia

Implications for practice and policy

Bibliographic Data

ID12608630
AuthorsMeseret Molla Kassahun (Addis Ababa University, corresponding author), Meseret Kassahun (School of Social Work College of Social Sciences Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa Ethiopia)
Year2015
Volume24
Issue4
Pages388-398
Publication date2015-05-06
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Social Welfare (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-6866 • E-ISSN: 1468-2397
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/ijsw.12145
OpenAlexW2170942935
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited24

Using a mixed methods research design, this study analysed available social supports and stressors among 127 kin caregivers who were caring for HIV ‐ and AIDS ‐affected orphans and vulnerable children in A ddis A baba, E thiopia. The conceptual framework of the study was social support viewed as a buffer. Kin caregivers’ scores indicate a low level of social support and a high level of stress. The amount of support caregivers received from formal sources is considered inadequate, irregular and inconsistent. Kin caregivers’ stress is situational and largely related to poverty, especially food insecurity. Social service providers should consider programmes that strengthen support to help kin caregivers deal with major stressors. Policy makers should ensure that both specific child and caregiver supportive policies and related programmes respond to the overwhelming numbers of orphans and vulnerable children in E thiopia through explicitly acknowledging the significant role of kinship care

Economic growth · Family caregivers · Kinship · Kinship care · Poverty · Situational ethics · Social support · Sociology · Stressor · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Clinical Psychology · Global Maternal and Child Health · Medicine · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology · Social Psychology · Gerontology

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