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Psychosocial factors and psychological symptoms: HIV in a public health setting
Author(s) -
Carels Robert A.,
Baucom Donald H.,
Leone Peter,
Rigney Amy
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6629(199803)26:2<145::aid-jcop4>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - psychosocial , psychology , social support , clinical psychology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , coping (psychology) , structural equation modeling , sexual orientation , population , psychological well being , association (psychology) , psychiatry , medicine , social psychology , psychotherapist , statistics , mathematics , environmental health , family medicine
The association between psychosocial factors (e.g., social support, coping, stress, relationship status, sexual orientation) and psychological symptoms within an HIV‐positive sample population that has been underrepresented in prior research was examined in this study. The study's sample reflects many African Americans, injecting drug users, heterosexuals, and women. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relations among psychosocial factors and psychological symptomatology. There are several notable findings from this study. First, this study's sample appeared to exhibit greater psychological symptomatology than community samples and other HIV‐infected demographic groups. Second, both internal factors (i.e., coping response) and external factors (i.e., life stress) influenced psychological symptomatology. Finally, sexual preference and relationship status influenced the association between social support and psychological well‐being. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.