Religiosity is associated with affective and immune status in symptomatic HIV-infected gay men

This study examines the relationship between religiosity and the affective and immune status of 106 HIV-seropositive mildly symptomatic gay men (CDC s tage B). All men completed an intake interview, a set of psychosocial quest ionnaires, and provided a venous blood sample. Factor analysis of 12 religi ously oriented response items revealed two distinct aspects to religiosity: religious coping and religious behavior. Religious coping (e.g., placing t rust in God, seeking comfort in religion) was significantly associated with lower scores on the Beck Depression Inventory, but not with specific immun e markers. On the other hand, religious behavior (e.g., service attendance, prayer, spiritual discussion, reading religious literature) was significan tly associated with higher T-helper-inducer cell (CD4+) counts and higher C D4+ percentages, but not with depression. Regression analyses indicated tha t religiosity's associations with affective and immune status was not media ted by the subjects' sense of self-efficacy or ability to actively cope wit h their health situation. The associations between religiosity and affectiv e and immune status also appear to be independent of symptom status. Self-e fficacy, however, did appear to contribute uniquely and significantly to lo wer depression scores. Our results show that an examination considering bot h subject religiosity as well as sense of self-efficacy may predict depress ive symptoms in HIV-infected gay men better than an examination that consid ers either variable in isolation. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.