title: Distress, depression and anxiety among persons seeking HIV testing.
abstract: We investigated psychological distress and symptoms of depression and anxiety among 485 South Africans seeking HIV testing. The mean scores of the sample were 45.78 (SD = 16.81) on the Hopkins Symptom Checklist; 15.8 (SD = 12.4) on the Beck Depression Inventory and 12.44 (SD = 13.00) on the Beck Anxiety Inventory, which fell in the elevated, mild and low ranges on these instruments, respectively. For more than a third of participants, symptoms of depression and clinically significant distress were at least moderate and in some cases severe, indicating that they may have benefitted from psychological help. We make the case that symptoms of depression and distress are common among persons seeking HIV testing and are therefore not a consequence of an HIV-positive test result.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Stellenbosch University , Stellenbosch , South Africa.
authors.forename: Ashraf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kagee
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Stellenbosch University , Stellenbosch , South Africa.
authors.forename: Wylene
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Saal
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Stellenbosch University , Stellenbosch , South Africa.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bantjes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013019:South Africa
keywords: Depression; anxiety; distress; test-seeking