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Depressive Symptoms Mediate the Effect of HIV-Related Stigmatization on Medication Adherence Among HIV-Infected Men Who Have Sex with Men

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Abstract

This study tested the hypothesis that depressive symptoms would mediate the association of HIV-related stigma to medication adherence. We recruited HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM; N = 66; 66 % White, 23 % African-American) from an outpatient infectious disease clinic, and asked them to complete self-report measures. Mediational analyses showed that depressive symptoms fully mediated the association between HIV-related stigma and adherence. That is, stigma-related experiences were positively associated with depressive symptoms and negatively associated with adherence, and, in the final model, depressive symptoms remained a significant correlate of adherence while stigma did not. A test of the indirect effect of stigma on adherence through depressive symptoms was also significant (unstandardized b = −0.19; bootstrap 95 % CI −0.45 to −0.01). These results highlight the importance of treating depressive symptoms in interventions aiming to improve medication adherence among HIV-infected MSM.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by NIMH Grant R21-MH65865, awarded to Peter Vanable. The authors thank the Infectious Disease Clinic staff and patients at SUNY Upstate Medical University for their support of this work. We also thank Larry Hammonds for his assistance in recruiting study participants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, 430 Huntington Hall, Syracuse, NY, 13244-2340, USA

    Luke D. Mitzel, Peter A. Vanable & Shannon M. Sweeney

  2. Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA

    Jennifer L. Brown

  3. Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Rebecca A. Bostwick

  4. Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital and Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Michael P. Carey

Authors
  1. Luke D. Mitzel
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  2. Peter A. Vanable
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  3. Jennifer L. Brown
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  4. Rebecca A. Bostwick
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  5. Shannon M. Sweeney
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  6. Michael P. Carey
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Correspondence to Luke D. Mitzel or Peter A. Vanable.

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Mitzel, L.D., Vanable, P.A., Brown, J.L. et al. Depressive Symptoms Mediate the Effect of HIV-Related Stigmatization on Medication Adherence Among HIV-Infected Men Who Have Sex with Men. AIDS Behav 19, 1454–1459 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-015-1038-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-015-1038-6

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