COPING STRATEGIES USED BY HIV-INFECTED WOMEN

The purpose of this study was to describe the coping strategies used b y women to deal with the experience of being infected with HIV, and to develop a typology of coping strategies for this population. The samp le of 264 HIV infected women was recruited from eight AIDS/HIV treatme nt sites serving both urban and non-urban clients in one state in the south eastern United States. Coping strategies were assessed through t wo open-ended questions: ''How have you been dealing with being HN pos itive?'' and ''What has been most helpful to you in dealing with being HIV positive?'' Content analysis was used to analyze the data. A tota l of 516 codable items were identified. The coping strategies were cla ssified into eight categories: Seeking/Using Support, Spirituality, Av oidance/Denial, Focusing on the Here and Now, Managing the Illness/Pro moting Health, Positive Thinking, Focusing on Others, and Information Seeking (listed in order of frequency reported). The coping responses identified are generally similar to those reported in studies of HIV i nfected gay/bisexual males, however, there appeared to be a greater em phasis on spirituality and on focusing on others as coping strategies.