Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #117852

Michael Reece, PhD, MPH¹, Enbal Shacham, MEd¹, and Tania Basta, MPH². (1) Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University, HPER Building 116, 1025 E. Seventh Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-7109, 703-402-9580, mireece@indiana.edu, (2) Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, The University of Georgia, 300 River Road, Athens, GA 30602

Background: Much attention has been devoted to the role that HIV-related stigma plays in the lives of individuals living with HIV. However, little work has been conducted to explore the psychological foundations of stigma among these individuals. To further clarify the construct of stigma and its foundations, an understanding of its psychological correlates may be helpful. Methods: Data were collected from 452 individuals self-enrolling into care at an inner-city HIV-related mental health clinic. Data were analyzed to assess the extent to which HIV-related stigma shared relations with psychological distress. Findings: Individuals with high levels of HIV-related stigma were also among those with the most intense symptoms of psychological distress. In particular, there were high levels of association between stigma and paranoid ideation and anxiety. Additionally, these associations were stronger for individuals of African-American ethnicity and those with more recent diagnoses of HIV infection. Conclusions: It appears that HIV-related stigma does have significant associations with moderate to high levels of psychological distress, particularly among ethnic minority populations and those receiving recent HIV diagnoses. As the field continues to focus on interventions to reduce HIV-related stigma, it may be important to devote special attention to engaging minority and newly diagnosed populations. Additionally, it may be beneficial to develop mechanisms for integrating psychotherapeutic and other forms of mental health care into these stigma-reducing interventions.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to list those psychological issues that share the strongest associations with HIV-related stigma.
• Participants will be able to list the benefits of incorporating mental health strategies into interventions designed to reduce HIV-related stigma.

Keywords: Mental Health Services, HIV Interventions

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation