Abstract
The aim of the investigation was to study the prevalence of current and past psychiatric morbidity and psychosocial problems in HIV seropositive (HIV+ve) asymptomatic women. A cross-sectional controlled study including 57 HIV+ve women belonging to CDC group II and III (43 intravenous drug users and 14 non-IVDUs heterosexuals) and 23 HIV-ve women (15 intravenous drug users and 8 non-IVDUs heterosexuals) is reported. Outcome measures included, past psychiatric history, current psychological status (Zung Anxiety and Depression scales, Symptom Check List 90-Revised), Social Supports and Locus of Control Scales, and information on changes in work, social and sexual life after HIV testing. Results showed that HIV+ve women differed very little from HIV-ve controls regarding outcome measures and indeed for some variables HIV infected women had lower levels of psychological morbidity. Multiple regression analyses showed that alcohol misuse and a predominantly external locus of control accounted for the 29% of the variance of psychiatric distress ( F=9.23, p<0.0006). The implications of the findings are discussed.
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