Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
ADJUSTMENT TO A DIAGNOSIS OF ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME AND RELATED CONDITIONS: A COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE
Diss Abstr Int (Sci); 46(8):2818 1986. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/87632390 Moulton JM; California School of Professional Psychology, Berkeley
Abstract:
The psychological adjustment to a diagnosis of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and related conditions (ARC) was examined in 37 gay men. Five areas were investigated: (1) the type of causal attributions for health problems used by persons with AIDS or ARC in their search for meaning in the diagnosis and course of the illness, (2) the relationship between particular attributions and psychological distress, (3) the relationship between positive life-changes made post-diagnosis and psychological distress, (4) levels of psychological distress reported by persons with AIDS or ARC soon after diagnosis as well as three or seven months later and (5) certain psychosocial sequelae of a diagnosis of these conditions. For 24 men with AIDS, the interviews were two to eight weeks after diagnosis and three months later, and for the 13 ARC-diagnosed men, the interviews were soon after recruitment to the study and seven months later. Seventy-eight percent of the subjects attributed cause of their health problems to themselves. This is a higher rate of self-attribution than found in a study of women with breast cancer. The use of particular attributions at diagnosis remained relatively stable over time. Compared with attributions involving other sources, self-attribution was associated with greater psychological distress in AIDS and ARC subjects. Attributions to external factors appeared psychologically protective for persons with ARC who were more likely than those with AIDS to attribute cause to sources other than themselves. Life-change post diagnosis was negatively associated with psychological distress. Trends in the data suggest that persons with ARC experience greater distress than persons with AIDS. The differential findings are discussed as stemming from the prognostic differences of the two conditions, community response and the psychological demands associated with confronting one's own death. Implications for psychosocial treatment of persons with AIDS and ARC are drawn from the discussion of study findings.
Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*PSYCHOLOGY *Adaptation, Psychological AIDS-Related Complex/*PSYCHOLOGY *Cognition Homosexuality Human *Life Change Events Male THESIS
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Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
