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Psychiatric Symptomatology and Psychological Functioning in HIV-Infected Mothers

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Abstract

The present study examines psychiatric and psychological functioning in HIV-infected mothers with young children. Reflecting the epidemiology of HIV disease in women, the majority were African American and Latina, socioeconomically disadvantaged single parents with histories of substance use. Women were recruited from primary care HIV clinics. They were administered a structured psychiatric interview (SCID-R-Nonpatient form), as well as a psychological symptom questionnaire (Demoralization Scale). Prevalence rates of lifetime psychiatric diagnoses (88%), particularly lifetime histories of Major Depression (58%) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (38%), were considerably higher than in other comparable samples in the literature. History of substance use was associated with history of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the number of traumas experienced was associated with psychiatric and psychological functioning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York

    Claude Ann Mellins, Anke A. Ehrhardt & Wanda F. Grant

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  1. Claude Ann Mellins
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  2. Anke A. Ehrhardt
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  3. Wanda F. Grant
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Mellins, C.A., Ehrhardt, A.A. & Grant, W.F. Psychiatric Symptomatology and Psychological Functioning in HIV-Infected Mothers. AIDS Behav 1, 233–245 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026227418721

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