Neugebauer R, Williams J, Rabkin R, Remien RH, Gorman J; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1989 Jun 4-9; 5: 210 (abstract no. W.B.O.41).
HIV Center for Clinical & Behavioral Studies, NYS Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
OBJECTIVE: To explore the psychiatric toll of AIDS deaths and of other major, negative life events among NYC gay men. METHODS: Data derive from 160 gay men participating in a prospective cohort study. Subjects were predominantly white, middle class, with a mean age of 38; 75% were HIV+. Current depressive symptoms were assessed clinically (Hamilton Depression Scale) and by self-administered checklists (e.g., Dohrenwend Demoralization Scale; SCL-53, depression subscale). RESULTS: Contrary to expectations, no direct association was found between subjects' reports of the number of deaths from AIDS (overall and categorized separately into close friends, former lovers, lovers at the time of death) since the start of the epidemic or in the last 6 months, and any measure of depressive symptoms. For example, the correlation of number of recent losses with level of demoralization was -.15 (p less than .10). Analyses dichotomizing recent deaths into none vs. one or more; controlling for potentially confounding variables, e.g., social network, and for HIV status, did not alter these results. In marked contrast, other recent negative events correlated with demoralization at .34 (p less than .0001). CONCLUSION: This lack of association between AIDS deaths and depressive symptoms may reflect a capacity for adaptive "habituation" to certain types of loss among high risk groups.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Cohort Studies
- Depression
- Depressive Disorder
- Disease Outbreaks
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Homosexuality
- Homosexuality, Male
- Humans
- Longitudinal Studies
- Male
- Prospective Studies
- Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
- Social Support
- Substance-Related Disorders
Other ID:
UI: 102176788
From Meeting Abstracts