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Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings

Published in:

01-06-2016

The Impact of Stigma and Social Support on Development of Post-traumatic Growth Among Persons Living with HIV

Authors: Charles Kamen, Chaniga Vorasarun, Ty Canning, Eliza Kienitz, Carolyn Weiss, Sergio Flores, Darryl Etter, Susanne Lee, Cheryl Gore-Felton

Published in: Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings | Issue 2/2016

Abstract

Given high rates of trauma in people living with HIV (PLH) and the health benefits of posttraumatic growth (PTG), understanding how to foster PTG in PLH exposed to trauma could be of interest to clinical psychologists working with this population. The current study examined factors theoretically related to development of PTG in PLH, namely HIV-related stigma, disclosure of HIV status, and emotional support. A sample of 334 HIV-positive adults answered a battery of self-report questionnaires. HIV-related stigma, disclosure to sexual partners, and emotional support were significant predictors of PTG: stigma was associated with lower PTG, whereas disclosure and emotional support were associated with higher PTG. Disclosure and emotional support remained significantly associated with PTG in the model including demographic factors and stigma. These findings highlight the need for development of interventions that can aid PLH in disclosing their HIV status to sexual partners and increasing available social support.

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Title: The Impact of Stigma and Social Support on Development of Post-traumatic Growth Among Persons Living with HIV
Authors: Charles Kamen
Chaniga Vorasarun
Ty Canning
Eliza Kienitz
Carolyn Weiss
Sergio Flores
Darryl Etter
Susanne Lee
Cheryl Gore-Felton
Publication date: 01-06-2016
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings / Issue 2/2016
Print ISSN: 1068-9583
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3572
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-015-9447-2

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The Impact of Stigma and Social Support on Development of Post-traumatic Growth Among Persons Living with HIV

Abstract

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