1. The role of social support in moderating the relationship between HIV centrality, internalised stigma and psychological distress for people living with HIV
- Author
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Brener, Loren, Broady, Timothy, Cama, Elena, Hopwood, Max, de Wit, John B F, Treloar, Carla, Public Health, Social Policy and Public Health, Leerstoel de Wit, Public Health, Social Policy and Public Health, and Leerstoel de Wit
- Subjects
Health (social science) ,Social Psychology ,Social Stigma ,Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) ,HIV Infections ,Health outcomes ,medicine.disease_cause ,03 medical and health sciences ,Social support ,0302 clinical medicine ,psychological distress ,Internalised stigma ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Humans ,Medicine ,030212 general & internal medicine ,030505 public health ,business.industry ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,virus diseases ,Psychological distress ,PLHIV ,social support ,internalised stigma ,Stigma (anatomy) ,0305 other medical science ,business ,Centrality ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
Research has documented the negative impact of stigma on health outcomes for people living with HIV (PLHIV). How central HIV is to the identity of the individual may increase the negative effects of stigma, including greater psychological distress, while having strong social supports may play a buffering role. This study aimed to establish whether internalised stigma mediates the relationship between the centrality of HIV identity and psychological distress, while also assessing the role of social support as a moderator. PLHIV (n = 181) responded to a survey assessing experiences of living with HIV focussed on centrality of HIV identity, internalised stigma, and wellbeing. After controlling for age and education, findings from the mediation analysis show that the more central HIV is to an individual's identity, the more stigma is internalised and the greater the negative impact on psychological wellbeing. However, this is only the case for people with low levels of social support. Regardless of how central HIV is to identity, social support appears to act as a buffer and promote positive wellbeing. For those working with PLHIV, promoting the importance of good social support systems may be one way to address some of the negative impacts of stigma.
- Published
- 2019
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