title: A Spanish Study on Psychological Predictors of Quality of Life in People with HIV.
abstract: In Spain little research has focused on assessment of health indicators, both physical and psychological, in people living with HIV. The aim of this study is to evaluate a set of different indicators that allow us to identify psychological factors that may be influencing the quality of life of these people. The sample consist of 744 people infected with HIV aged between from 18 to 82 years (M = 43.04; SD = 9.43). Results show that factors such as self-esteem and leading a healthy lifestyle act as protectors in both, physical and mental health. On the other hand, financial problems, body disfigurement, and depressive mood could have harmful effects on both, physical and mental health. The structural model reveals depressed mood as the factor with greatest influence upon mental health, which in turn can be largely explained by factors such as the stress generated by HIV and personal autonomy. This work has allowed us to identify the vulnerability and protective factors that play a significant role in the physical and mental HRQOL of persons with HIV, providing guidelines for design and implementation of psychological intervention programs aimed to improve HRQOL in this population.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicología Básica, Clínica y Psicobiología. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, Avda. Sos Baynat, s/n, 12071, Castellón de la Plana, Spain. rballest@uji.es.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ballester-Arnal
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicología Básica, Clínica y Psicobiología. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, Avda. Sos Baynat, s/n, 12071, Castellón de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gómez-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Fundació Lluita Contra la Sida, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmina R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Fumaz
authors.affiliation: Fundació Lluita Contra la Sida, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: González-García
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Remor
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Fuster
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: HIV; Mental health; Physical health; Predictors; Quality of life