title: Psychological and spiritual growth in women living with HIV.
abstract: Women living with HIV and AIDS face tremendous obstacles to wellness, yet many find ways to use their experience of HIV as a vehicle for psychological and spiritual growth. A qualitative study was conducted to better understand this process. Thirty-four women living with various stages of HIV were interviewed. Five components were found to be important in their psychological and spiritual growth: reckoning with death, life affirmation, creation of meaning, self-affirmation, and redefining relationships. Implications for social work practice and future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Hawaii, Honolulu 96822, USA.
authors.forename: H T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Dunbar
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006803:Human Development; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012947:Social Work; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology*