THE EFFECT OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT GROUPS ON PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT, UNCERTAINTY, AND HOPELESSNESS IN PERSONS INFECTED WITH THE HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (SUPPORT GROUPS, IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS).
Contributors: University of Virginia.
Published: 1990
Number of pages: 256
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Sociology, Public and Social Welfare.
Description: Community support groups are a primary locus of care for persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) providing a variety of psychosocial services including peer group support. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of peer group participation on the individual's ability to adjust by influencing stress related uncertainty and hopelessness.

This study utilized a nonexperimental design to test for differences between participants and non-participants of community support groups utilizing the Psychosocial Adjustment in Illness, Uncertainty in Illness, and Hopelessness Scales. A nonrandom sample of 95 subjects with asymptomatic and symptomatic HIV infection from the Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore areas participated in the study. Differences between the participant and non-participant groups were tested by discriminant function analysis with follow-up T-tests and analyses of variance. Multiple regression was used to examine the correlation and prediction of the variables uncertainty and hopelessness on psychosocial adjustment of both groups.

The findings indicated that the subjects in this study were fairly well adjusted and were experiencing moderate uncertainty and minimal hopelessness despite the terminal and stigmatized nature of their illness. There were no significant differences overall between the participant and non-participant groups. However, there were significant differences in the scores between asymptomatic/symptomatic participants/non-participant groups. Uncertainty and hopelessness independently contributed to and significantly accounted for 39.5% of the psychosocial adjustment variance.

The findings suggested that community support groups were most effective for those who were symptomatic for HIV infection. In addition, it appears that hopelessness and uncertainty are salient components of psychosocial adjustment to illness. It was recommended that further study is required to support these results.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-11, Section: B, page: 5248.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, 1990.

School code: 0246.