Type of Document Dissertation Author Lindner, Gretchen K URN etd-07282006-005536 Title HIV and Psychological Functioning Among Black South African Women: An Examination of Psychosocial Moderating Variables Degree Ph.D. Department Psychology Advisory Committee
Advisor Name Title Lisa Armistead, Ph.D. Committee Chair Leslie Jackson, Ph.D. Committee Member Page Anderson, Ph.D. Committee Member Sarah Cook, Ph.D. Committee Member Keywords
- Black
- South Africa
- Psychological distress
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Psychosocial variables
- Women
- AIDS
- HIV
Date of Defense 2005-06-30 Availability unrestricted Abstract Introduction: South Africa has an HIV-infection rate of 5 million people. Between 1995 and 2005, South Africa is expected to have the highest number of AIDS-related deaths on the African continent, a total of 2.7 million. Many infected individuals are women. However, there is very little research conducted with South African women examining the relationship between HIV-infection and psychological distress. Research conducted in the United States indicates that HIV-infection is associated with increased rates of depression and anxiety. This research project aims to explore the relationship between HIV-infection and psychological functioning in the unique socio-political context of South Africa. In addition, the aim is to begin identifying potential factors that moderate this relationship.
Method: A group of HIV-infected Black South African women (N = 104) and a community control sample (N = 144) were recruited from both urban and rural areas in the Gautang Province. These women participated in a one-on-one verbally administered interview assessing for psychological distress and various material, personal, family, and social resource factors.
Results: HIV-infection was associated with higher rates of depression, but not anxiety. In addition, women with HIV-infection reported more malnutrition risk, emotion-focused coping,
stressful life events, powerlessness in relationships with male partners, HIV-stigma, and healthcare satisfaction, than the non-infected women. Variables that were directly associated with depression and anxiety included nutrition, stressful life events, powerlessness in relationships, family social support, and community agency access. HIV-stigma was also directly associated with depression. Furthermore, health-care access, emotion-focused coping, and family social support moderated the relationship between HIV-status and depression, and stressful life events moderated the relationship between HIV-status and anxiety.
Discussion: This research study provides further evidence for the relationship between HIV-status and psychological distress among Black South African women. It also identified potential protective factors that could be directly addressed through community-based interventions in order to enhance the psychological functioning of these women.
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