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Maladaptive Coping Strategies in Relation to Quality of Life Among HIV+ Adults

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Abstract

This study examined relationships between coping strategies and psychological quality of life (QOL) among people living with HIV/AIDS (N = 141). Participants completed baseline assessments, which included a demographic survey, the Brief COPE, the MOS-HIV, and a medical history questionnaire. Additionally, we obtained CD4 count information from medical charts. After controlling for demographic and AIDS-related factors, hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that maladaptive coping strategies used to deal with the stress of living with HIV/AIDS significantly lowers psychological quality of life as defined by cognitive functioning, mental health, and health distress. Developing adaptive coping skills to increase adaptive coping behaviors for dealing with living with HIV/AIDS may be a particularly effective intervention strategy to improve QOL. Future research must use methodological designs that can evaluate the influence of coping on QOL over time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical College of Wisconsin, Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

    Mark Vosvick & Cheryl Gore-Felton

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California

    Cheryl Koopman & David Spiegel

  3. School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, California

    Carl Thoresen & John Krumboltz

Authors
  1. Mark Vosvick
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  2. Cheryl Gore-Felton
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  3. Cheryl Koopman
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  4. Carl Thoresen
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  5. John Krumboltz
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  6. David Spiegel
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Correspondence to Mark Vosvick.

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Vosvick, M., Gore-Felton, C., Koopman, C. et al. Maladaptive Coping Strategies in Relation to Quality of Life Among HIV+ Adults. AIDS Behav 6, 97–106 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014584730432

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