Women have been identified as the """"""""third wave"""""""" of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. With the early anti-viral treatments, introduction of treatments, and living with their condition as a chronic illness for increasing periods of time. To date little is known about how infected women, most of them minority women, manage the many adaptive tasks associated with their HIV antibody positive serostatus; there are few assessments of the quality of life these women are able to attain. Therefore we propose a two-stage quasi-longitudinal study of adaptation to living with HIV infection as a chronic condition, with a focus on identifying white-black-Puerto Rican womens differences. Stage 1 will consist of a combined qualitative/quantitative study employing in-depth focused interviews with a sample of 45 white, 45 black, and 45 Puerto Rican women (total N=135) and standard psychological tests. Women from each group will be equally divided among those who are asymptomatic infected, those who are symptomatic infected (but not qualifying for a diagnosis of AIDS), and those diagnosed with AIDS. The findings of the Stage 1 study will be used, not only to make recommendations for interventions to improve adaptive success, but also to design and conduct a large Stage 2 survey study. Currently, we are seeking support only for Stage 1. Research objectives will be to: 1) identify adaptive tasks that HIV- infected women must accomplish to make a successful psychosocial adjustment to their condition and describe how these may or may not vary by disease stage and ethnicity; 2) describe the strategies used by HIV- infected women to address the adaptive tasks posed by their condition and how these may or may not vary by disease stage and ethnicity; 3) examine how the health beliefs, perceptions and values of white, black and Puerto Rican women are associated with the strategies they adopt to address adaptive tasks; 4) begin to develop, prioritize and test relational propositions describing the nature of the associations among adaptive tasks, strategies used to meet these tasks, psychosocial adjustment to HIV infection, stage of disease and ethnicity; 5) gather information that will inform the design of the Stage 2 survey; and 6) with data from an existing grant on HIV-infected white, black and Puerto Rican men who have sex with men, make preliminary cross-study comparisons between men and women to illuminate similarities and differences in adaptive challenges, treatment- related behaviors, and coping styles.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01MH050414-01A2
Application #
2249728
Study Section
Psychobiological, Biological, and Neurosciences Subcommittee (MHAI)
Project Start
1994-04-01
Project End
1997-03-31
Budget Start
1994-04-01
Budget End
1995-03-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1994
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Memorial Hospital for Cancer & Allied Di
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10021
Siegel, Karolynn; Schrimshaw, Eric W; Lekas, Helen-Maria (2006) Diminished sexual activity, interest, and feelings of attractiveness among HIV-infected women in two eras of the AIDS epidemic. Arch Sex Behav 35:437-49
Lekas, Helen-Maria; Siegel, Karolynn; Schrimshaw, Eric W (2006) Continuities and discontinuities in the experiences of felt and enacted stigma among women with HIV/AIDS. Qual Health Res 16:1165-90
Siegel, Karolynn; Lekas, Helen-Marie; Schrimshaw, Eric W (2005) Serostatus disclosure to sexual partners by HIV-infected women before and after the advent of HAART. Women Health 41:63-85
Siegel, Karolynn; Schrimshaw, Eric W (2005) Stress, appraisal, and coping: a comparison of HIV-infected women in the pre-HAART and HAART eras. J Psychosom Res 58:225-33
Schrimshaw, Eric W; Siegel, Karolynn; Lekas, Helen-Maria (2005) Changes in attitudes toward antiviral medication: a comparison of women living with HIV/AIDS in the pre-HAART and HAART Eras. AIDS Behav 9:267-79
Siegel, Karolynn; Karus, Daniel; Dean, Laura (2004) Psychosocial characteristics of New York City HIV-infected women before and after the advent of HAART. Am J Public Health 94:1127-32
Schrimshaw, Eric W (2003) Relationship-specific unsupportive social interactions and depressive symptoms among women living with HIV/AIDS: direct and moderating effects. J Behav Med 26:297-313
Siegel, K; Lekas, H M; Schrimshaw, E W et al. (2001) Factors associated with HIV-infected women's use or intention to use AZT during pregnancy. AIDS Educ Prev 13:189-206
Siegel, K; Schrimshaw, E W (2000) Perceiving benefits in adversity: stress-related growth in women living with HIV/AIDS. Soc Sci Med 51:1543-54
Siegel, K; Gluhoski, V L; Karus, D (1997) Coping and mood in HIV-positive women. Psychol Rep 81:435-42