Structural equation modeling of microaggressions, religious and racism-related coping, medication adherence, and viral load among Black women living with HIV.

Abstract

Despite the disproportionate impact of HIV, microaggressions, and discrimination among Black women living with HIV (BWLWH), BWLWH have demonstrated resilience by mobilizing religious and other coping strategies. The current study sought to examine whether racism-related or religious coping moderates the relationship between latent gendered racial microaggressions (GRMs), antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and viral load (VL) among 119 BWLWH. Data was collected via self-report measures of GRMs and coping. ART adherence was measured via self-report and electronic monitoring and VL was measured via blood specimens. Structural equation modeling showed significant main effects of religious coping on adherence and VL. Furthermore, GRMs × racism-related coping and GRMs × religious coping significantly predicted adherence and VL. Our findings indicate the unique and culturally salient role of religious and racism-related coping among BWLWH in the context of GRMs. Such findings may be optimized in the development of culturally relevant multilevel interventions for BWLWH.