© Kamla-Raj 2014 J Hum Ecol, 47(1): 103-110 (2014) Primary School-Going Children’s Understanding of HIV/AIDS: A Narrative Analysis Sibusiso Ntshangase * , Zamangwane Khanyile and Heidi van Rooyen University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa KEYWORDS Trauma. Narrative. Qualitative Study. Knowledge. Symptoms ABSTRACT The aims of the study were to investigate how primary school-going children understand the HIV/ AIDS pandemic and the effect of HIV/AIDS on them. Children’s narratives were obtained via four focus groups with a total of 36 children of primary school-going age (average age 7). The results of the study indicated that children’s knowledge and awareness was generally adequate for their developmental age as described by Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory. However, children from the urban area seemed to have a broader and more accurate knowledge of HIV/AIDS than their rural counterparts. Children from the rural areas also seemed to hold more myths about HIV/AIDS than those from the urban areas. Since parents were an important source of HIV/AIDS information as far as children were concerned, it was recommended that more HIV/AIDS educational programmes should target parents. Also, those involved in the design and implementation of HIV/AIDS educational programmes must ensure that they incorporate accurate and positive African traditional beliefs system. * Address for correspondence: Dr. Sibusiso Ntshangase University of South Africa, Department of Psychology of Education, College of Education, P.O.Box 392, Pretoria, South Africa, 0003. Telephone: +27123524193 Fax: +27865410799 E-mail: ntshas@unisa.ac.za INTRODUCTION Research indicates an increase in children infected and affected by Human Immunodefi- ciency Virus infection / Acquired Immunodefi- ciency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in southern Afri- ca (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/ AIDS 2010). In South Africa, the South African National HIV prevalence, Incidence and Behav- iour survey (Human Sciences Research Council 2014) indicated that in the province of KwaZu- lu-Natal there has been an increase in HIV prev- alence in children aged 2 to 14 years. This situa- tion will bring trauma to these children in a num- ber of ways. They are likely to suffer trauma resulting from possible prejudice and social ex- clusion as societies continue to associate AIDS with promiscuity and drug usage (Walton et al. 2011). Children affected and infected with HIV/AIDS also have to face and deal with the trauma of witnessing the lives of parents and/or signifi- cant adults gradually fading away due to illness- es and eventually dying of AIDS.The psycho- logical impact on children who witness their par- ents suffering and eventually dying of AIDS can be more severe than for those whose parents die from more sudden causes (Campbell et al. 2014).The increasing death of adult population is also threatening the traditional family struc- tures. Many children will end up with adoptive families (Carver et al. 2014). Many will also end up in the streets and many of them will end up taking the responsibility of heading their fami- lies and looking after their younger siblings (Mangwaya 2013). The rapid spread of HIV/AIDS pandemic has focused the attention of health profession- als and educators on the critical importance of responding to the psychosocial needs of chil- dren. In order for interventions to achieve max- imum effectiveness and sustainability, research must be informed by an understanding of how mental health issues are understood within a local context (Betancourt et al 2011). Such ef- forts to match programmes designed to help children is enshrined in the United Nations Con- vention on the rights of the Child. In South Africa it is also encoded in the South African Constitution, which protects the rights and health of children and ensures that in matters affecting the child, the child’s view be heard and given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child (The Republic of South Africa 1996). Research on HIV/AIDS education for chil- dren has long indicated that effective and effi- cient educational programmes that promote re-