Abstract
Over the past few decades, a relationship has emerged between intrapsychic factors and health outcomes in HIV-positive and other populations. We examined whether trait self-enhancement would correlate with immune markers and sexual risk taking in a sample of 54 asymptomatic HIV-positive gay men, most of whom were ethnic minorities. Participants completed a one-time assessment with regard to self-enhancement, psychological distress, and sexual risk taking, and provided consent to access information regarding immune status and other health-related variables. Both self-enhancement and minority status were significantly associated with CD4 counts, but the latter effect disappeared when looking at only white and African American participants. Neither factor was related to viral load, sexual risk taking, or psychological distress. More research with larger and more diverse samples is needed to further elucidate the possible salutary relationship between self-enhancement and critical medical and behavioral outcomes in this population.
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