Suchergebnisse

When PIMCO founder William Gross coined the term the new normal, he both stated the obvious and offered a fresh insight. Most people understand in a visceral way that things have changed dramatically when it comes to jobs and economic opportunities since the financial crisis of 2008. Today, the US economy is like a cardiac patient on artificial life support. Flat employment, flat credit growth and falling inflation-adjusted incomes are the attributes of the new normal. The Fed cannot both pursue maximum employment and safeguard against inflation. Indeed, there is a growing doubt that the Fed can truly change the employment picture. But the political attraction of promising people higher wage and job growth, it seems, is so powerful that members of the Federal Open Market Committee and central bankers around the world cannot help themselves. Ultimately, using low interest rates in an attempt to boost demand and job creation will fail. Adapted from the source document.

ObjectiveTo determine whether perinatal HIV infection and exposure adversely affected psychosocial adjustment (PA) between 6 and 18 years of life (i.e. during school‐age and adolescence).MethodsWe enrolled 58 perinatally HIV‐infected, 56 HIV‐exposed uninfected and 54 unexposed controls from Kampala, Uganda. Perinatal HIV status was determined by 18 months of age using a DNA‐polymerase chain‐reaction test and was confirmed via HIV rapid diagnostic test at psychosocial testing when the children were 6 to 18 years old. Five indicators of PA (depressive symptoms, distress, hopelessness, positive future orientation and esteem) were measured using validated, culturally adapted and translated instruments. Multivariable linear regression analyses estimated HIV‐status‐related percent differences (β) in PA indicators and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsDuring school‐age and adolescence, positive outlook (β=−3.8, 95% CI: −7.2, −0.1) and self‐esteem (β=−4.3, 95% CI: −6.7, −1.8) scores were significantly lower, whereas depressive (β=11.4, 95% CI: 3.3, 19.5) and distress (β=12.3, 95% CI: 5.9, 18.7) symptoms were elevated for perinatally HIV‐infected, compared to unexposed controls and exposed uninfected children. Similarly, positive outlook (β=−4.3, 95% CI: −7.3, −1.2) and self‐esteem were lower for exposed controls versus HIV‐unexposed children. Hopelessness was similar by perinatal HIV status. Likewise, the distress and depressive symptom levels were comparable for HIV‐exposed uninfected and HIV‐unexposed children.ConclusionsPerinatal HIV infection predicted higher distress and depressive symptoms, while HIV‐affected status (infection/exposure) predicted low self‐esteem and diminished positive outlook in the long term. However, HIV‐affected status had no impact on hopelessness, suggesting that psychosocial interventions as an integral component of HIV care for infected children or primary care exposed uninfected children may improve PA and quality of life in these vulnerable groups.