In June 2021, exactly 40 years had passed since the first cases of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were officially detected and described in scientific literature. During these four decades, we witnessed enormous medical progress in a battle against the previously unknown illness—acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). A method to enable a complete eradication of HIV from one's body still does not exist. However, the influence of HIV infection on one's health changed drastically. HIV infection is no longer a life threat, and the lifespan of people with HIV is equal to average. Do these changes translate into the independence of one's well-being from an HIV diagnosis? We tried to answer this question in our meta-analysis covering HIV studies published during the last 40 years.

Our first work referred to the relationship between the well-being of people with HIV and HIV stigma. The results of our analysis demonstrated a negative association between the two variables. The association was particularly strong among the oldest participants in the study. In other words, among older people living with HIV, the stigma frequently coexists with low well-being. However, the most pessimistic result of our work points to no changes in the strength of the well-being–stigma association according to the analysed papers. As such, we cannot indicate a phenomenon of an immunisation against HIV stigma. Nevertheless, our analysis also pointed to an interesting variance of obtained results, depending on the context of a particular study. The context may concern functional characteristics of individuals (e.g., belonging to an ethnic or sexual minority group) and differences in existing structural stigmatisation at both local and national levels. As a result, future studies should take into account both the individual characteristics of people living with HIV and the properties of their environment. 

Individual resources cannot balance the influence of an extremely stigmatising environment. As a consequence, HIV stigma is a culturally varied phenomenon, rather than a universal global trend. This fact can constitute a chance of finding factors that would protect participants against stigmatisation, which is the objective of our last project.

The second of our meta-analyses concerned the relationship between the posttraumatic growth phenomena (PTG) and the psychological well-being of people living with HIV. We wanted to observe whether declared PTG levels would translate into a better quality of life among participants. Even though the majority of previous studies documented positive psychological changes with PTG, there is scientific evidence undermining this association. Taking into account the above premises, we accomplished a systematic review of a wide range of scientific articles. We analysed the relationships between PTG and positive (e.g. life satisfaction, quality of life), as well as negative (e.g., depression, stigma, PTSD) indicators of well-being. Our analysis pointed to associations between declared PTG level and positive, as well as negative, well-being indicators. This result was highly intuitive. What was less intuitive and, as a result, particularly interesting was the strength of the analysed associations. The associations between PTG and positive well-being indicators were statistically stronger than associations between PTG and negative indicators. In other words, this result suggests that the growth following the trauma of HIV diagnosis can favour better coping with the consequences of the infection itself, as well as the persisting social stigmatisation of people living with HIV. 

Are you interested in learning more about why testing psychological well-being is important? Read our papers in this area and see related research materials.

References:

Rzeszutek, M., Gruszczyńska, E., Pięta, M., & Malinowska, P. (2021). HIV/AIDS stigma and psychological well-being after 40 years of HIV/AIDS: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12:1. Advanced online publication: DOI: 10.1080/20008198.2021.1990527.

Pięta, M., & Rzeszutek, M. (2021). Posttraumatic growth and well-being among people living with HIV: A systematic review and meta-analysis in recognition of 40 years of HIV/AIDS. Quality of Life Research. Advanced online publication. DOI: 10.1007/s11136-021-02990-3