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HIV-RELATED TRAUMA AND ANTIRETROVIRAL ADHERENCE: THE EFFECTS OF PERSONAL RESOURCES
Title
HIV-RELATED TRAUMA AND ANTIRETROVIRAL ADHERENCE: THE EFFECTS OF PERSONAL RESOURCES
Creator
Guy, Arryn A.
Date
2017, 2017-05
Description
Suboptimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) can interfere with virologic suppression and increase risk of developing drug-resistant...
Show moreSuboptimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) can interfere with virologic suppression and increase risk of developing drug-resistant strains of the virus. People living with HIV (PLH) have difficulty complying with ART—a treatment regimen that is unforgiving of non-adherence—in large part because this population is at higher risk for stressors, including experiencing their HIV diagnosis as a traumatic event (e.g., Boarts et al., 2006; Theuninck, Lake, & Gibson, 2010). Perceived social support and coping are contextual and changeable factors that can be focused on in interventions to improve treatment adherence. This study aimed to confirm that more perceived social support is related to optimal treatment adherence in PLH who experienced HIV-related trauma, through bolstering coping strategies, namely, emotion-focused coping strategies like positive reappraisal and emotional social support seeking, and problem-focused coping related to managing ART (i.e., active coping). Participants were 62 young adults living with HIV recruited from a local HIV clinic. Participants were assessed for experiencing their HIV diagnosis as a traumatic event, perceived social support, coping, and medication adherence. Positive reappraisal, emotional support seeking, and active coping strategies did not mediate the relation between perceived social support and adherence, however, active coping had a statistically significant effect on adherence when controlling for other hypothesized mediators in the model. This finding has practical significance for clinicians in that it suggests active coping plays a more direct role in improving treatment adherence than emotional support seeking and positive reappraisal coping strategies.
M.S. in Psychology, May 2017
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POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH AMONG HIV-SEROPOSITIVE ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS
Title
POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH AMONG HIV-SEROPOSITIVE ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS
Creator
Niel, Kristin A.
Date
2016, 2016-12
Description
An estimated 1,218,400 individuals in the United States were living with HIV/AIDS in 2014 (CDC, November 2015). In addition, 9,731 youth...
Show moreAn estimated 1,218,400 individuals in the United States were living with HIV/AIDS in 2014 (CDC, November 2015). In addition, 9,731 youth between the ages of 13 and 24 were newly diagnosed with HIV, with 81% of those diagnoses between ages 20 and 24. African-Americans accounted for 44% of new infections, with young gay and bisexual men accounting for 72% of new infections in all persons between 13 and 24. Research has suggested that a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS can be experienced as a trauma (Kelly et al., 1998; Nightingale, Sher, Mattson, Thilges, & Hansen, 2011). Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is characterized by significant, positive transformations that may occur in response to trauma and has been linked to improved mental and physical health among people living with cancer and adults living with HIV (Barskova & Oesterreich, 2009); however, these relations have not been sufficiently explored among youth living with HIV/AIDS. This study examined 71 HIV-seropositive youth at an urban medical clinic. It was hypothesized that (1) some youth would experience their HIV diagnosis as traumatic; (2) some youth would experience PTG; (3) higher levels of PTG would be associated with better health-related quality of life; (4) PTG would be positively associated with medical regimen adherence, and this relation would be mediated by serostatus disclosure; (5) PTG would be positively associated with physiological health, and this relation would be mediated by serostatus disclosure; and (6) the relation between serostatus disclosure and PTG would be moderated by social support satisfaction. Analyses revealed that 73.2% of participants experienced their diagnosis as traumatic, and 71.8% reported some level of PTG. A positive relation existed between PTG and the Social Relationships Domain of quality of life (β= .32, p < .01). Serostatus disclosure did not act as a mediator for the relations between PTG and adherence or health; however, there was a negative relation between disclosure and appointment attendance (β = -.46, p < .05). Finally, social support satisfaction moderated the relation between disclosure and PTG, such that the relation was stronger in those with average or high support satisfaction than those with lower satisfaction. Clinical and future research implications of these findings are discussed.
Ph.D. in Psychology, December 2016
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