Spiritual activities as a resistance resource for women with human immunodeficiency virus.
BACKGROUND
Few studies have investigated the role that spiritual activities play in the adaptational outcomes of women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the role of spiritual activities as a resource that may reduce the negative effects of disease-related stressors on the adaptational outcomes in HIV-infected women.


METHODS
A theoretically based causal model was tested to examine the role of spiritual activities as a moderator of the impact of HIV-related stressors (functional impairment, work impairment, and HIV-related symptoms) on two stress-related adaptational outcomes (emotional distress and quality of life), using a clinic-based sample of 184 HIV-positive women.


RESULTS
Findings indicated that as spiritual activities increased, emotional distress decreased even when adjustments were made for HIV-related stressors. A positive relationship between spiritual activities and quality of life was found, which approached significance. Findings showed that HIV-related stressors have a significant negative effect on both emotional distress and quality of life.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings support the hypothesis that spiritual activities are an important psychological resource accounting for individual variability in adjustment to the stressors associated with HIV disease.
Sowell
R
R
Department of Administrative and Clinical Nursing, University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA.
Moneyham
L
L
Hennessy
M
M
Guillory
J
J
Demi
A
A
Seals
B
B
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008602:Mental Healing; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D015399:Nursing Research; D011788:Quality of Life; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*