Citation

Rabkin JG, Remien R, Katoff L, Williams JB. AIDS Care 1993; 5(4): 401-411.

Affiliation

New York State Psychiatric Institute, NY 10032.

Comment In:

AIDS Care 1993;5(4):387-90.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8110855

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate suicidal ideation and attempts, thoughts about living and dying, and the maintenance, diminution and loss of hope in a sample of long-term AIDS survivors. The study sample consisted of 53 gay men enrolled as clients at Gay Mens Health Crisis in New York City who had had an AIDS-defining opportunistic infection at least 3 years prior to study entry. Despite the experience of protracted biological stress associated with life-threatening illness and the psychological stress of living with AIDS, we found low rates of current syndromal mood disorders (6%) or psychiatric distress. While thoughts about death and wishes to die were reported by a significant portion of men, they were context-specific, occurring almost exclusively during serious illness, often accompanied by severe pain or at times of bereavement. Only two men had made a suicide attempt after being diagnosed with AIDS and both had a history of prior (pre-AIDS) suicide attempts. While anger was a prominent affect, hopelessness was not. Overall, we found a high level of positive psychological health independent of HIV illness stage or degree of illness-induced physical limitation.

Language: en