VOA标准英语2011--AIDS Orphans Face Psychological Challeng

AIDS Orphans¹ Face Psychological Challenges

In many parts of Africa, AIDS has had a devastating² effect. Now, 30 years into the epidemic³, researchers are learning more about the impact on orphans and other children whose parents get AIDS.
Oxford⁴ University researcher Lucie Cluver has spent a decade studying AIDS orphans and other youngsters who live with adults who have AIDS in South Africa.
She found that the disease has a major, long-term impact on these children.
"And one of the biggest impacts we see is mental health, their psychological health," Cluver says. "So, for example, we see that AIDS-orphaned children have very much higher levels of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress than children who have a live parent or children whose parents have died of other causes - including homicide and suicide."
According to Cluver, there are several reasons why AIDS orphans suffer psychological damage. There is stigma⁵ attached to the disease, and kids are subjected to gossip, bullying⁶ and fear.
Adults with AIDS may be under stress and unable to parent effectively. Also, medical bills, funeral costs, and the loss of a household's breadwinner can reduce a family to poverty. And often children become caregivers for parents sickened by AIDS.
"They're missing school to go and get their medication. They're washing the sick person. They're often taking them to the toilet, cleaning their wounds or washing their bedclothes. So these kids find it very stressful and upsetting. They're very worried about the health, and feel very responsible for the health of the sick person."
That intimate contact with sick parents and infected bodily fluids can sometimes transmit disease, such as tuberculosis⁷.
And even when these young caregivers go to school, they tell researchers that they are so worried about their parents, that they can't concentrate in the classroom.
"And it's constantly on their minds and really making it difficult for them to do well at school," Cluver says. "It's one of the things that they tell us first. It's one of their greatest concerns."
Cluver says her research indicates that psychological problems increase as AIDS-orphaned children become young adults, which is not the case for other orphans.
Writing in Nature, the Oxford researcher says a variety of official and NGO programs are working to help children affected⁸ by AIDS, but that more work - and more resources - are needed.
And experts are focusing on the most effective strategies, such as support groups for mental health issues, tuberculosis testing for children, and better access to anti-AIDS drugs for parents, to keep them healthy longer.

1 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

2 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

5 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

6 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。