Living with HIV: The psychological relevance of meaning making

Abstract

A qualitative study was carried out in Namibia to explore how people infected with HIV cope psychologically with this life-threatening virus. The study was based on the theoretical concept of meaning making as developed by Park and Folkman (1997; Review of General Psychology, 1, 115–44) within the framework of Lazarus’ stress and coping theory (e.g., Lazarus, 1993, Psychosomatic Medicine, 55, 245–54). Ten semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with people who were diagnosed as HIV-positive but had not yet developed AIDS. The participants had known about their status for 6 months to 8 years. None of them received antiretroviral therapy. The interviews were analysed by means of the circular deconstruction method (Jaeggi & Faas, 1991, Arbeitsmaterialien aus dem Institut für Psychologie der Technischen Universität Berlin). The findings revealed that all participants had accepted their HIV-infection and that this acceptance enabled them to reconcile with having the virus. All participants felt largely responsible for their HIV-infection and they also felt that they had deserved the contraction of the virus. Self-blame and the experience of ‘personal deservedness’ (Park & Folkman, 1997) turned out to provide individuals with a sense of control over the causes of their current situation. Almost all participants reported that since being diagnosed with HIV religion became very important to them. Religious beliefs made their HIV-status more meaningful to the participants and brought a purpose to their HIV-infection as well as hope for a good outcome of this event.