Since the first documented cases of HIV, the disease remains as one of the highly stigmatized diseases. According to Vanable et al. (2006), uninfected populations harbor negative and stigmatizing views about HIV-positive men and women. As a result, stigmatization remains as a great stressor to HIV-positive men and women. In a recent study performed by Vanable et al. (2006), the researchers sought for how the HIV-related stigmatization affects the health behaviors, the psychological adjustments, medication adherence, and sexual behaviors of people with HIV. The researchers postulated that HIV-related stigmatizations would be associated with poorer overall health, decreased medication adherence, more depressive symptoms, decreased serostatus disclosure, and increased sexual risk behaviors.
According to the researchers, the participants were treated negatively by the society because of their HIV status. To be specific, 42% of the participants reported that due to their HIV status, people behave negatively; 29% of the participants were being avoided, and 20% of the participants were excluded from social events. Moreover, the researchers found that there exists no difference with regards to HIV-related stigmatization based on gender, ethnic, or age of the HIV-patient. However, the degree of HIV-related stigmatization was found to be positively associated with the amount of time since the diagnosis of HIV, employment status, lower income, and greater HIV-related symptoms, but was not associated with the degree of HIV (i.e. amount of current viral load). The researchers concluded that negativity, discomfort, and discrimination towards HIV-positive men and women may increase as the signs of the disease emerge.
In addition, the researchers found out that HIV-related stigmatizations affect the psychological health of HIV-positive men and women. In their study, the reports of HIV-related stigmatization are positively correlated with increased depressive mood and symptoms. Thus, the researchers concluded that poor psychological adjustments result from HIV-related stigmatization. Finally, the researchers found that medication adherence is greatly influenced by the frequency of HIV-related stigmatization, but not the sexual risk behaviors of the HIV-positive men and women. In their study, lapses in adherence to medications are seen to be positively correlated with HIV-related stigmatization frequency. On the other hand, sexual risk behaviors seem to be unaffected by stigma-related experiences.
Reference:
Vanable, Peter A. et al. (2006). Impact of HIV-Related Stigma on Health Behaviors and Psychological Adjustment Among HIV-Positive Men and Women. AIDS and Behavior, 10 (5): 473-482.
