Differences in Resilience, Psychological Well-Being and Coping Strategies between HIV Patients and Diabetics.

Cristina Rivera-Picón,Pedro Manuel Rodríguez-Muñoz,María Paz Quevedo-Aguado,María Hinojal Benavente-Cuesta

doi:10.3390/healthcare10020266

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the differences in resilience, psychological well-being and coping strategies between patients with HIV and diabetics. The sample included a total of 400 subjects (199 patients with HIV and 201 subjects with diabetes). The instruments applied for data collection were a sociodemographic data questionnaire, the Resilience Scale (Wagnild and Young), the Ryff Psychological Well-being Scale and the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (Sandín and Chorot). The data collection period was approximately 2 years (between February 2018 and January 2020). Based on the results of our work it was found that the subjects with HIV had lower scores than the diabetic subjects in all the resilience factors, except for the factor “feeling good alone”. In addition, the subjects with HIV scored significantly lower than the diabetic subjects on all the variables of psychological well-being. Subjects with HIV used problem-solving coping, social support seeking, positive reappraisal, religious coping and avoidance coping with less frequency than diabetic subjects. However, they used more negative auto-focused coping compared to diabetic subjects. Therefore, subjects with HIV show a different psychological pattern in relation to resilience, psychological well-being and use of coping strategies compared to diabetic subjects.

Highlights

Due to factors such as the development of medical technology, scientific advances, new lifestyles and an ageing population, the presence of chronic diseases in society is growing rapidly [1]
Due to the benefits of these psychological resources on the health of subjects, we consider it important to know what differences exist in resilience, psychological well-being and in the coping strategies used in different health states, in order to create personalized interventions taking into account the aspects that are generally most affected according to the pathology
Subjects with HIV show a differentiated psychological pattern in relation to resilience, psychological well-being and the use of coping strategies compared to diabetic subjects

Summary

Introduction

Due to factors such as the development of medical technology, scientific advances, new lifestyles and an ageing population, the presence of chronic diseases in society is growing rapidly [1]. The increase in these pathologies is of great importance because the diagnosis of a chronic disease can be a profound, impactful experience This is associated with the fact that chronicity has complex physical, psychological and social implications, requiring adaptation to new lifestyles, which requires effort and improvement [2,3]. For this reason, certain psychological variables such as resilience, psychological wellbeing and coping strategies take on great relevance in the approach to chronic diseases. Different authors contend that an active coping style is associated with a better quality of life and greater psychological well-being [9,10]

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Discussion

Conclusion