Ball Joanna, Tannenbaum Libby, Armistead Lisa, Maguen Shira
Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta 30303, USA.
Women Health. 2002;35(1):17-36. doi: 10.1300/J013v35n01_02.
HIV is impacting African-American women at alarming rates. Many of these women are poor and socially disadvantaged, resulting in a combination of stressors that impacts the quality of their lives. This study investigated whether coping style (i.e., problem-focused, emotion-focused) varies as a function of HIV status or stage of HIV-related illness. Secondly, we examined whether the use of a particular style is associated with three areas of functioning among HIV-infected women: general psychological distress, depressive symptomatology, and physical symptomatology. Ninety-nine HIV-infected women and 143 noninfected women completed measures assessing coping styles and functioning. No significant differences emerged in coping styles between the HIV-infected and noninfected women or for the groups when symptomatic women were examined separate from asymptomatic women. Greater emotion-focused coping was associated with less general psychological distress and depression specifically. Problem-focused coping interacted with illness stage to predict all areas of functioning. By identifying effective coping strategies among African-American women with HIV, mental health professionals can design empirical interventions that can help improve quality of life for these women.
艾滋病毒正以惊人的速度影响着非裔美国女性。这些女性中有许多人贫困且处于社会弱势地位，这导致了一系列影响她们生活质量的压力源。本研究调查了应对方式（即以问题为中心、以情绪为中心）是否会因艾滋病毒感染状况或与艾滋病毒相关疾病的阶段而有所不同。其次，我们研究了特定应对方式的使用是否与感染艾滋病毒女性的三个功能领域相关：一般心理困扰、抑郁症状和身体症状。99名感染艾滋病毒的女性和143名未感染的女性完成了评估应对方式和功能的测量。在感染艾滋病毒的女性和未感染的女性之间，或者在将有症状的女性与无症状的女性分开检查时，应对方式没有出现显著差异。更多地以情绪为中心的应对方式具体与较少的一般心理困扰和抑郁相关。以问题为中心的应对方式与疾病阶段相互作用，以预测所有功能领域。通过识别感染艾滋病毒的非裔美国女性中的有效应对策略，心理健康专业人员可以设计出有助于改善这些女性生活质量的实证干预措施。
