The impact of HIV on emotional distress of infected women: cognitive appraisal and coping as mediators.
This study examined the role of psychological factors as mediators of the impact of HIV-related stressors on emotional distress of a clinic-based sample of 264 HIV+ women. Based upon Lazarus and colleagues' cognitively oriented theory of stress and coping, causal modeling was used to test for mediating effects of cognitive appraisal (intrusive thoughts and perceived stigma) and coping variables (avoidance and fatalism) on emotional distress within the context of HIV-related stressors (functional impairment and work performance impairment). The findings supported the mediating effects of cognitive appraisal but not of the coping variables. Consistent with theory, the effect of HIV-related stressors on emotional distress was indirect through cognitive appraisal; however, there were no significant direct effects of HIV-related stressors, fatalism or avoidance on emotional distress. The causal model accounted for significant portions of variance in emotional distress (R2 = .49) and the model fit, as a whole, was more than adequate. The findings indicate that how HIV+ women think about HIV-related stressors is an important factor that may account for individual variability in the ability to maintain a sense of subjective well-being in the face of a devastating fatal disease.
Moneyham
L
L
Emory University, USA.
Seals
B
B
Sowell
R
R
Hennessy
M
M
Demi
A
A
Brake
S
S
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011287:Prejudice; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology*