Illness disclosure and mental health among women with HIV/Aids

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12397465
AutoresLisa K Comer (University of California, Los Angeles), Barbara Henker (University of California, Los Angeles, autor correspondente), Margaret E Kemeny (University of California, Los Angeles), Margaret Kemeny, Gail E Wyatt (0000-0002-2630-1480, University of California, Los Angeles), Gail Wyatt
Ano2000
Volume10
Fascículo6
Páginas449-464
Data de publicação2000-11-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Community & Applied Social Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1052-9284 • E-ISSN: 1099-1298
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/1099-1298(200011/12)10:6<449::aid-casp577>3.0.co;2-n
OpenAlexW1974013612
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas16

The current study examines two contrasting models of the relationship between illness disclosure and mental health among an ethnically-diverse group of women with HIV/AIDS. In the first, and commonly accepted model, illness disclosure predicts enhanced mental health status. In the second or alternate model, based on the stigmatization that accompanies HIV/AIDS infection, illness disclosure predicts poorer mental health. We also explore an alternate interpretation for this second model, namely that the mental health status of participants is predictive of their levels of disclosure. A total of 176 women from three major ethnic groups were interviewed and assessed during the baseline visit for a comprehensive longitudinal study. Results showed that these women constituted a highly-disclosed population; over one-third of them had disclosed their HIV status to their entire social networks. Contrary to expectation, disclosure was unrelated to mental health among the African-American (n = 72) and European-American (n = 47) women. Among the Latina women (n = 57), however, greater disclosure was related to higher levels of depression, psychological distress, and reported pain. Regression analyses controlling for age, education, and illness severity showed that disclosure makes a small but independent contribution to the prediction of mental health status. Thus, among the Latinas, the data were consistent with both the stigma model and the hypothesis that greater distress predicts wider disclosure. General patterns of disclosure are described and possible explanations for the inconsistent relationships found between disclosure and mental health among the three ethnic groups are considered. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Depression (economics · Distress · Ethnic group · Mental health · Mental illness · Population · Psychiatry · Self-disclosure · Stigma (botany · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum · Medicine · Psychology · Clinical Psychology · Social Psychology