Life Satisfaction and Pessimism in HIV Positive People
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61841/s1nft512Keywords:
Pessimism, Life satisfaction,, Gender,, Marital status,, IndiaAbstract
The manifestation of negative psychological states has been a recurrent theme in the HIV literature. This study explored the life satisfaction of HIV positive persons in India along with the extent of hopelessness (pessimism) manifested in them.
HIV positive adults (N=309), registered with Network for Positive People a NGO in Tamilnadu, India constituted the re- spondents for this investigation. They were administered the Hopelessness Scale (Beck et al., 1974) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, 1985). Respondents were compared on the basis of gender and marital status. Data analysis re- vealed that female respondents and those who were ‘single’ showed a significant difference from male respondents and those married and scored higher on pessimism and lower on life satisfaction. Further, the life satisfaction score showed highly significant negative correlations with the overall hopelessness score and its sub-dimensions. These findings are in consonance with the Western literature and show poorer emotional states in HIV positive persons from India and indicate areas for intervention which merit attention.
Downloads
References
Beck, A.T., Rush, A.J., Shaw, B.F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford Press. Beck, A.T., & Steer, R.A. (1988). Manual for the Beck hopelessness scale. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
Beck, A.T., Weissman, A., Lester, D., & Trexler, L. (1974). The measurement of pessimism: The Hopelessness Scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 861-865.
Bogart, L.M., Catz, S.I.,Kelly, J.A., Gray-bernhardt, M.I., Hartmann, B.R., laura l.,… Bloom, F.R. (2000). Psychosocial Issues in the Era of New AIDS Treatments from the Perspective of Persons Living with HIV Journal of Health Psychology, 5, 4, 500–516.
Buseh, A.G., Stevens, P.E., McManus, P., Addison,J. Morgan, S., & Millon-Underwood, S. (2006). Challenges and Oppor- tunities for HIV Prevention and Care: Insights From Focus Groups of HIV-Infected African American Men. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 17, 4, 3-15.
Catalan, J., Klimes, I., Day, A., Garrod, A., Bond, A., & Gallway, J. (1992). The psychosocial impact of HIV infection on gay men. British Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 774–778.
Chandra, P.S., Desai, G., & Ranjan, S. (2005). HIV & psychiatric disorders. Indian Journal of Medical Research, 121, 451- 467.
Chesney, M.A., & Folkman, S. (1994). Psychological impact of HIV diseaseand implications for intervention. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 17, 163-82.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd edition). Hillsdale, NJ: Diener, E. (1984). Sub- jective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–75.
Diener, E., Emmons, R., Larsen, J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction With Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assess- ment, 49, 1, 71-75.
Greeff, A,M., Leana, R., Uys, B, Wantland C,D., Makoae, D, L., Maureen Chirwa, M. E.,…Holzemer, W.L. (2010). Per- ceived HIV stigma and life satisfaction among persons living with HIV infection in five African countries: A longitudinal study International Journal of Nursing Studies, 47, 475–486.
Hackl, K.L., Somlai, A.M., Kelly, J.A., & Kalichman, S.C. (1997). Women living with HIV/AIDS: the dual challenge of being a patient and caregiver. Health & Social Work 22, 53–62.
Hall, B.A. (1998). Patterns of spirituality in persons with advanced HIV disease.Research in Nursing & Health, 21, 2, 143 – 153.
Hall, R.C.W., Platt, D.E., & Hall, R.C. (1999). Suicide risk assessment: a review of risk factors for suicide in 100 patients who made severe suicide attempts, evaluation of suicide risk in a time of managed care. Psychosomatics 40, 18–27.
Hays, R.D., Cunningham, W.E., & Sherbourne, C.D. (2000). Health-related quality of life in patients with human immun- odeficiency virus. American journal of Medicine, 108, 9, 714-722.
Heckman, T.G., Somlai, A.M., Sikkema, K.J., Kelly, J.A., & Franzoi, S.L., (1997). Psychosocial predictors of life satisfac- tion among persons living with HIV infection and AIDS. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 8, 5, 21–30.
Heckman, T.G. (2003). The Chronic Illness Quality of Life (CIQOL) Model: Explaining Life Satisfaction in People Living With HIV Disease. Health Psychology 22, 2, 140–147.
Holden, R.R., & Fekken, G.C. (1988). Test-retest reliability of the Hopelessness Scaleand its items in a university popula- tion. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 40-43.
Ingram, D., & Hutchinson, S.A. (1999). Defensive mothering in HIVpositive mothers. Qualitative Health Research, 9, 243–258.
Johnson, J.G., Alloy, L.B., Metalsky, C.P.G.I., Rabkin, J.G., Janet B. W. Williams Lyn Y., & Abramson, J.B.W.LY. (2001). Hopelessness as a Mediator of the Association Between Social Support and Depressive Symptoms: Findings of a Study of Men With HIV. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 6, 1036-1060.
Kelly, B., Raphael, B., Judd, F., Perdices, M., Kernutt, G., Burnett, P., … Burrows G (1998). Suicidal ideation, suicide at- tempts, and HIV Infection. Psychosomatics, 39, 405–415.
Kendall, J. (1992). Promoting wellness in HIV-support group. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 3, 28– 38.
Kylmä, J. (2005). Despair and hopelessness in the context of HIV – a meta-synthesis on qualitative research findings. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 14, 7, 813 – 821.
Kylmä, J., Vehviläinen-Julkunen, K., & Lähdevirta, J. (2001). Hope, despair and hopelessness in living with HIV/AIDS: a grounded theory study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 33, 6, 764-775.
Lyketsos, C.G., Hoover, D.R., Guccione, M., Dew, M.A., Wesch, J., Bing, E.G. & Treisman, G.J. (1996). Depressive symptoms over the course of HIV infection before AIDS. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 31, 212–219.
Mawn, B. (1998). Integrating women’s perspectives on prenatal human immunodeficiency virus screening: toward a so- cially just policy. Research in Nursing & Health, 21, 499–509.
Moneyham, L., Seals, B., Sowell, R., Hennessy, M., Demi, A. & Brake, S. (1997). The impact of HIV on emotional dis- tress of infected women: cognitive appraisal and coping as mediators. Scholary Inquiry for Nursing Practice: An Interna- tional Journal, 11, 125–145.
Palombi, L., Mancinelli, S., Liotta, G., Narciso, P. & Marazzi, M.C. (1997). The impact of socio-economic factors, mental health and functional status on survival in a sample of AIDS patients. AIDS Care, 9, 671–680.
Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Psychologtcal Assessment, 5, 164-172.
Pergami, A., Catalan, J., Hulme, N., Burgess, A., & Gazzard, B. (1994). How should a positive HIV result be given? The patients’ view. AIDS Care, 6, 21–27.
Santosh, P. (2004). Clinical predictors of suicidal ideation in HIV seropositive population. MD thesis. Bangalore: National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences.
Siegel, K., & Meyer, I.H. (1999). Hope and resilience in suicide ideation and behavior of gay and bisexual men following notification of HIV infection. AIDS Education Preview, 11,1, 53-64.
Sitaraman, B. (1999). Law as Ideology:Women, Courts and `Dowry Deaths' in India.International Journal of the Sociology of Law, 27, 287-316.
Somlai. A.M., & Heckman, T.G. (2000). Correlates of spirituality and well-being in a community sample of people living with HIV disease. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 3,1, 57 – 70.
Strawn, J.M. (1995). Long-term survivors: thriving with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syn- drome. Holistic Nursing Practice, 10, 29–35.
Subramanian, T., Gupte, M.D., Paranjape, R.S., Brahmam, G.N., Ramakrishnan, L. and Adhikary, R. (2008). HIV, sexu- ally transmitted infections and sexual behaviour of male clients of female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, India: Results of a cross-sectional survey. AIDS, Suppl 5:S69-79.
Van Gorp, W. & S. Buckingham (1998) A Mental Health Practitioner's Guide to the Neuropsychiatric Complications of HIV/AIDS. NY: Guilford Publications.Van Servellen, G., Sarna, L., Padilla, G., & Brecht, M.L. (1996) Emotional distress in men with life-threatening illness. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 33, 5, 551-565.
Wingood, G.M., DiClemente, R.J., Mikhail, I., McCree, D.H., Davies, S.L., Hardin, J.W., ... Saag, M. (2007). HIV Dis- crimination and the Health of Women Living with HIV. Women & Health,46, 2 & 3, 99 – 112.
Wig, N., Lekshmi, R., Pal, H., Ahuja, V., Mittal,C.M., & Agarwal,S.K. (2006). The impact of HIV/AIDS on the quality of life: A cross sectional study in north India. Indian Journal of Medical Sciences, 60,1, 3-12.
Wood, K.A., Nairn, R., Kraft, H., & Siegel, A. (1997). Suicidality among HIV-positive psychiatric in-patients. AIDS Care, 9, 385–389.
World Health Organization http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/psychosocial/support/en/
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
