Do coping styles mediate the relationship between substance use and educational attainment and antiretroviral adherence?
There is a substantial body of literature that demonstrates that substance use and lower educational attainment are associated with poorer antiretroviral (ART) adherence, however, the nature of these relationships are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to explore whether coping styles mediate the relationship between substance use and educational attainment and ART adherence in order to better understand how these variables relate to adherence. The sample consisted of 192 HIV-positive patients (mean age = 41 years; 75.5 % male, 46.9 % heterosexual; 52.6 % with a high school/GED education or less) who were on ART. Path analysis revealed that active and avoidant coping significantly mediated the relationship between drug use and ART adherence. No form of coping was found to mediate the relationship between either binge drinking or educational attainment and adherence. Findings suggest that a focus on coping skills should be included in any multimodal intervention to increase ART adherence among HIV-positive drug using patients.
Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 5030 Cherry St., Room 138, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA. dam7v7@mail.umkc.edu
David A
DA
Martinez
Kathy
K
Goggin
Delwyn
D
Catley
Mary M
MM
Gerkovich
Karen
K
Williams
Julie
J
Wright
Jannette
J
Berkley-Patton
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D063425:Binge Drinking / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007615:Kansas; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012067:Religion; D019529:Sexuality; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents