How injection drug users coped with testing HIV-seropositive: Implicationsfor subsequent health-related behaviors

At entry into methadone maintenance treatment, 94 HIV-positive injection dr ug users (IDUs) completed the Coping Reponses Inventory, which asked them t o "describe your feelings and experiences when you first learned you were H N positive." Controlling for time since HIV testing, a reliance on avoidanc e coping following HN testing was correlated with high levels of recent HIV risk behavior and poor health at entry into the study. The use of any copi ng strategy, particularly approach strategies, was related to medication ad herence. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that avoidance coping acco unted for a significant proportion of the variance in recent HIV risk behav ior over and above that accounted for by the other variables. Other indepen dent predictors of continued risk behavior were poor health, lack of social support, and low levels of HIV/AIDS knowledge. The need for interventions to help injection drug users (IDUs) cope subsequent to testing HIV seroposi tive is discussed.