Past, present or future? Word tense and affect in autobiographical narratives of women with HIV in relation to health indicators.

This study examined how the expression of positive and negative affect words and word tense in autobiographical narratives of 98 HIV+ women, predominantly African American, predicted undetectable HIV viral load (UDVL), CD4+ cells/mm counts and antiretroviral therapy medication (ART) adherence assessed concurrently (T1) and at 3 to 9-month follow-up (T2). Logistic regressions revealed that higher past tense words predicted worse odds of UDVL, CD4+ cells/mm above 350 at T1, and worse odds of 95% ART adherence at T2. However, using both high past tense words and high positive affect words predicted better odds of CD4+ cells/mm > 350 at T2. Higher future tense words predicted better odds of CD4+ cells/mm > 350 at T1. Additionally, using both high present tense words and negative affect words predicted better odds of UDVL at T1. These findings provide preliminary evidence that the quality of affect expression significantly interacts with temporal context to relate to the health of women with HIV.