QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN HIV-INFECTED WOMEN IN THE SOUTH-EASTERN UNITED-STATES

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative importance of s ocial (social support, material resources, disclosure, and family func tioning) and psychological factors (stigma, emotional distress, intrus ion, avoidance, and fatalism) as predictors of the quality of life of women infected with HIV. The cross-sectional data were drawn fi om int erviews of a sample of 264 women recruited from 8 HIV/AIDS treatment s ites in a south-eastern state. Variance in quality of life variables, included limited daily functioning, general anxiety, and HIV symptoms was analyzed using ANOVA, correlations, and hierarchical multiple regr ession analysis. Limited daily functioning was predicted by stigma, fa talism, employment status, and stage of disease (R-2 = 0.179). General anxiety was predicted by emotional distress, intrusion, and marital s tatus (R-2 = 0.503). Reported HIV symptoms were predicted by material resources, disclosure, intrusion, age, employment status, and race (R- 2 = 0.294). The results of this study support that social and, particu larly, psychological factors are important in their influence on quali ty of life in women with HIV infection and suggest the need for interv entions which address such factors.