Posttraumatic Growth Among HIV/AIDS Patients¹

Abstract

Correlates ( n = 835 at Time 1) and predictors ( n = 434 at Time 2) of posttraumatic growth (PTG; perceiving positive life changes stemming from diagnosis) over 1.6 years were examined among a diverse sample of HIV/AIDS patients. PTG was common–59% of participants reported to have experienced at least moderate positive changes since diagnosis. At Time 1, PTG had significant negative associations with age, alcohol use, depression, and pessimism; and positive associations with African American ethnicity (vs. White), female gender, eating a healthy diet, and optimism. At Time 2, religiosity was positively associated with PTG. The process of experiencing PTG over time was associated with lower levels of depression over time. Although the underlying process of PTG remains unclear, these results suggest that PTG is worthy of intervention focus.