Peer-reviewed article
Examining the nonkin support networks of orphaned adolescents participating in a family‐based economic‐strengthening intervention in Uganda
Proscovia Nabunya, Deborah K. Padgett, Fred M. Ssewamala, Mark E. Courtney, Torsten B. Neilands ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how orphaned adolescents aged 11-17 in Uganda build social support networks outside their family while participating in an economic-strengthening programme. The research found that orphaned adolescents have very limited social networks, mostly limited to people facing similar hardships. Having access to personal savings was linked with adolescents having at least one supportive adult outside their family. The study highlights that extended families remain the primary source of support for orphaned children in HIV-affected communities.
Key points
- Orphaned adolescents' nonkin support networks are small, limited, and comprised of individuals with similar socioeconomic challenges
- Orphaned adolescents are socially isolated, with very low thresholds for accessing nonkin support services
- Availability of personal savings was associated with higher odds of identifying at least one supportive nonkin relationship
- Extended family systems remain the primary source of social support for orphaned children in HIV-affected communities
- Standard care services provided to the control group appeared instrumental in survival and well-being of orphaned adolescents
Limitations
The study does not clarify whether the economic-strengthening intervention itself directly improved nonkin support networks beyond the effect of personal savings, or how the findings apply to different geographic or social contexts. The mechanisms through which savings facilitate nonkin relationships are not explained.
Abstract
In this study, we examined the nonkin support networks of orphaned adolescents participating in a family-based economic-strengthening intervention in HIV-impacted communities in Uganda. We analyzed data from a cluster randomized experimental study for orphaned adolescents aged 11-17 years. Participants were randomly assigned to either the control condition, which received bolstered standard of care (BSOC) services, or the treatment condition, which received BSOC services plus an economic-strengthening intervention. We conducted binary logistic regression analyses to examine the effect of the intervention on participants' nonkin support networks. Results indicated that the existing social support networks for orphaned adolescents are small, limited, and usually comprised individuals with similar socioeconomic situations and challenges. Because orphaned adolescents are socially isolated and the threshold for nonkin supportive services is very low, the BSOC services provided to the control condition appeared to be instrumental in their survival and well-being. Availability of personal savings was associated with higher odds of identifying at least one supportive nonkin tie. The extended family system is still the primary and major source of social support to orphaned children in HIV-affected communities. In the absence of public safety nets, building social assets, over and above offering economic opportunities to extended families supporting orphaned children, is critical.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Family-based economic-strengthening intervention provided alongside bolstered standard of care services, compared to bolstered standard of care alone
- Population
- Orphaned adolescents aged 11-17 years in HIV-impacted communities in Uganda
Key finding