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- Title
Impact of HIV-Related Stigma on Health Behaviors and Psychological Adjustment Among HIV-Positive Men and Women.
- Authors
Vanable, Peter A.; Carey, Michael P.; Blair, Donald C.; Littlewood, Rae A.
- Abstract
HIV-related stigmatization remains a potent stressor for HIV-positive people. This study examined the relationships among stigma-related experiences and depression, medication adherence, serostatus disclosure, and sexual risk among 221 HIV-positive men and women. In bivariate analyses that controlled for background characteristics, stigma was associated with depressive symptoms, receiving recent psychiatric care, and greater HIV-related symptoms. Stigma was also associated with poorer adherence and more frequent serostatus disclosure to people other than sexual partners, but showed no association to sexual risk behavior. In a multivariate analysis that controlled for all correlates, depression, poor adherence, and serostatus disclosure remained as independent correlates of stigma-related experiences. Findings confirm that stigma is associated with psychological adjustment and adherence difficulties and is experienced more commonly among people who disclose their HIV status to a broad range of social contacts. Stigma should be addressed in stress management, health promotion, and medication adherence interventions for HIV-positive people.
- Subjects
SOCIAL stigma; HIV-positive persons; CLINICAL trials; MULTIPLE regression analysis; MENTAL depression
- Publication
AIDS & Behavior, 2006, Vol 10, Issue 5, p473
- ISSN
1090-7165
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10461-006-9099-1