CORRELATES OF STRESS IN HIV DISEASE

A group of 53 men with HIV disease participated in this correlational study of the relationships among psychological distress, quality of li fe, uncertainty, coping patterns, stress, and CD4+ T-lymphocyte levels . Meaningful correlations (r > .40, p < .01) indicated that higher lev els of negative-impact stressful experiences were associated with more frequent use of emotion-focused coping; both higher levels of negativ e stress and more frequent use of emotion-focused coping were associat ed with lower quality of life, higher psychological distress, and more uncertainty; lower quality of life was associated with higher psychol ogical distress and more uncertainty; and lower CD4+ counts were assoc iated with higher levels of positive-impact stressful experiences.