Written emotional disclosure and processing of trauma are associated with protected health status and immunity in people living with HIV/AIDS.
OBJECTIVE
This study compared written emotional disclosure and processing of trauma among a relatively rare group of people with AIDS with atypically favourable disease status with an HIV+ comparison group. The study also examined the mediational role of emotional/cognitive processing and natural killer (NK) cells.


METHODS
This study utilized a cross-sectional group comparison design.


METHODS
Two HIV+ groups, the Healthy Survivors (N=37;>9-months with <50 CD4 cells/mm(3) and asymptomatic), and an HIV+ comparison groups (N=100) wrote essays describing their reactions to past traumas; these were scored for emotional disclosure/processing.


RESULTS
Healthy survivors had higher levels of emotional disclosure and emotional/cognitive processing than the comparison group. Emotional/cognitive processing mediated the relationship between emotional disclosure and group membership. NK cell number mediated the relationship between emotional/cognitive processing and 'healthy survival'.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that higher levels of emotional disclosure and processing of trauma may confer health and immunological benefits to people living with HIV/AIDS.
O'Cleirigh
Conall
C
Department of Psychology, Psychiatry & Medicine, University of Miami, Florida, USA. cocleirigh@partners.org
Ironson
Gail
G
Fletcher
Mary Ann
MA
Schneiderman
Neil
N
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019260:Expressed Emotion; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D033262:Narration; D014956:Writing
D015704:CD4 Antigens