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Neuropsychological impairment occurs in many persons with AIDS and in a smaller proportion of asymptomatic HIV-1 carriers, but the implications of such impairments in terms of psychosocial functioning are poorly understood. We explored potential differences in coping activity (e.g., cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage, alter, or regulate emotional responses to stressful, situations) in a group of 275 medically symptomatic and asymptomatic HIV-positive men stratified on neuropsychological impairment. Regardless of medical symptom status, persons rated as being neuropsychologically impaired in attention/speed of information processing and verbal skills utilized significantly more confrontive coping than did unimpaired subjects. It may be that individuals with difficulty sustaining attention to details or reduced ability to process verbal information resort to impulsive forms of coping because they are less able to assess the precise nature or extent of threat or harm posed by a stressful situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]