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01-01-2019

Psychological threat avoidance as a barrier to HIV testing in gay/bisexual men

Auteurs: Devon M. Price, Jennifer L. Howell, Amanda N. Gesselman, Stephanie Finneran, Diane M. Quinn, Lisa A. Eaton

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Behavioral Medicine | Uitgave 3/2019

Abstract

The present study examined how three psychosocial barriers—anticipated HIV stigma, HIV infectiousness-reduction beliefs, and optimism about available HIV treatments—related to HIV testing history and acceptance of an at-home HIV test among men who have sex with men. We also examined the mediating role of a variable that affects medical screening for other health conditions but has not yet been investigated in HIV contexts: the tendency to avoid psychologically threatening information. Volunteers completed a paper and pencil survey and were offered a free at-home HIV test during the 2015 Atlanta Pride Festival in Atlanta, GA. Anticipated HIV stigma, infectiousness beliefs, and treatment optimism were inconsistently related to HIV testing history and acceptance of an at-home HIV test, but all had direct effects on the desire to avoid HIV information. In a mediation model, each of these psychosocial barriers had indirect effects on both HIV testing outcomes via information avoidance. These findings suggest that information avoidance is an important proximal HIV testing barrier, thus providing a novel target for interventions and information campaigns.

vorige artikel Psychosocial factors associated with treatment outcomes in women with obesity and major depressive disorder who received behavioral activation for depression

volgende artikel Understanding stress reports in daily life: a coordinated analysis of factors associated with the frequency of reporting stress

As we would expect given the nature of its measurement, the information avoidance scale was positively skewed. However, transforming the scale using a Log₁₀ transformation (i.e., making the data normal) did not influence the pattern of results presented here.

We also ran the mediation models controlling for age, marital status, sexual orientation, employment, and outness given their significant associations with our outcomes. However, adding these variables to the model did not meaningfully change the reported outcomes. As such, we report the simpler model.

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Titel: Psychological threat avoidance as a barrier to HIV testing in gay/bisexual men
Auteurs: Devon M. Price
Jennifer L. Howell
Amanda N. Gesselman
Stephanie Finneran
Diane M. Quinn
Lisa A. Eaton
Publicatiedatum: 01-01-2019
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Behavioral Medicine / Uitgave 3/2019
Print ISSN: 0160-7715
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-3521
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-018-0003-z

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