A comparative study of post traumatic symptoms in men and women newly diagnosed with HIV-infection

M.A.It is now well known that HIV/AIDS-sufferers face profound psychological, psychiatric and neurological sequelae as the disease progresses. However, studies indicate that women diagnosed with HIV-infection are twice more likely to be depressed, to suffer from PTSD and other psychiatric morbidity than men. Yet very few studies have attempted to investigate the role that gender plays in reacting to the illness. Finding out that one is HIV-infected is one of the most significant discoveries. This is due to the fact that in receiving an HIV-positive diagnosis individuals are exposed to news of prodigious personal consequence. And yet very few studies have focused on how the impact of finding out that one is HIV-positive may affect their adjustment to the illness. Moreover, how men and women are likely to react to such news. It is against this background that the current study was conducted. The aim of the current study was to compare post traumatic symptoms in men and women upon hearing news of their HIV-positive status and to investigate to what extent such reactions may be similar or different and to further assess how their reactions are likely to affect disease progression and adjustment. A total of one hundred participants (38 Male, 63 female) diagnosed with HIV/AIDS participated in the study. These men and women were obtained from support groups in the Gauteng region. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised and Mental Adjustment to HIV-Scale questionnaires were used to collect data over a period of a month. A large majority of 60.2% of the total sample (n = 87) reported experiencing feelings of shock upon hearing about their HIV-positive status, 66.0% of the total sample (n = 94) of those who responded to this item reported trying to remove the issue from their mind. A further 59.6% of the total sample of (n = 94) indicated feeling as though news about their HIV-positive status were not real suggesting that the incident was traumatic. There were no significant gender differences in how both men and women reacted to news of their HIV-positive diagnosis. However, significant differences were found in relation to adjustment. Men were found to be more likely to have more Fighting Spirit which is indicative of adaptive adjustment as compared to women. Women on the other hand were found to be more likely to be Hopeless which is indicative of maladaptive coping