The proposed research will provide much needed information concerning the mental health of women living with HIV/AIDS (WLHA) in Puerto Rico. Trained interviewers will collect data by ways of a computer-assisted personal interview. Specifically, we propose the following specific aims: 1. To describe the mental health and functional impairment of WLHA. We will measure lifetime and last year prevalence of the following psychiatric disorders: Major Depression, Dysthymia, General Anxiety, as well as Alcohol and Substance abuse and dependence. 2. To describe the coping styles of WLHA according to Lazarus and Folkman classification of coping styles. 3. To compare the mental health of WLHA with the mental health findings of a comparison group of seronegative women with an STI and with findings from previous community epidemiological studies in Puerto Rico. 4. To examine the relationship between mental health and coping styles of WLHA and women in the comparison group. 5. To examine the relationship between social support, sense of stigma, the cultural values related to gender roles and familismo, and the coping strategies. This research plan is justified by: (a) the growing number of women with HIV/AIDS in the United States -- particularly African American and Latinas -- and the air-bridge for WLHA between New York and Puerto Rico; (b) the high and growing number of WLHA in Puerto Rico; (c) the social stressors experienced by WLHA in Puerto Rico; (d) the lack of information about the mental health of Latinas with HIV/AIDS and WLHA in Puerto Rico and about their coping styles; and (e) the usefulness and need of the information for the design of mental health services, policies and treatments the development of interventions to promote adherence to new treatments, and the design of interventions of support and facilitate psychological coping with HIV/AIDS by Latinas in Puerto Rico and in the United States.
