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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Depressive symptomatology, daily stressors, and ways of coping among middle-age and older adults living with HIV disease | | Author(s) | Timothy G Heckman, Arlene Kochman, Kathleen J Sikkema |
| Journal title | Journal of Mental Health and Aging, vol 5, no 4, Winter 1999 |
| Pages | pp 311-322 |
| Keywords | AIDS ; Depression ; Adjustment ; Older people ; Middle aged ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | The majority of AIDS mental health research has focused on younger persons, and little is known about stressors that affect HIV-infected older adults, their coping mechanisms, and whether the presence of psychological distress alters their coping responses. This study surveyed 113 midlife and older adults living with HIV/AIDS in the United States (US) and assessed levels of depressive symptomatology, daily stressors, and the relationship between coping and depression. About 29% of participants reported "moderate" or "severe" levels of depression as assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). HIV-infected older adults with elevated levels of depression experienced more stress due to poor finances, lack of HIV-related information and support resources, and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. When attempting to resolve significant stressors, depressed older persons more often distanced themselves from the stressors, used more escape-avoidant coping, and less frequently found something positive in the stressful situation. The authors concluded that mental health interventions that enhance the coping abilities of older persons with HIV/AIDS are urgently needed. (AKM). |
| Accession Number | CPA-000120204 A |
| Classmark | CQTT: ENR: DR: B: SE: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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