HIV Patient Psychographic
Psychographic characteristics of an individual at a higher-than-average risk of contracting HIV include suffering from psychological distress or mental health disorders, having low social support, neuroticism, disagreeableness, having low levels of conscientiousness, extroversion, abusing alcohol or drugs, suffering from minority stressors, and being in economically dependent partnerships. An analysis of these psychographic factors is below.
- A 2017 study on people at risk of contracting HIV found that psychological distress can lead to risky sexual behaviors, which suggests that "poor mental health may be a risk factor for HIV acquisition."
- Psychological distress is defined as "general term for a state of emotional suffering that can be associated with common mental disorders," the most prevalent of which is depression, affecting approximately 350 million people worldwide.
- Other disorders that have been linked to high-risk sexual behaviors include anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Mental health problems "play a critical role in HIV acquisition across populations, increasing the risk of HIV acquisition by four to ten-fold."
- In the U.S., the prevalence of HIV is significantly higher (up to 6%) in adults with serious mental illnesses when compared to the general population (0.5%).
- In uninfected men, psychological distress was associated with engaging in transactional sex and inconsistent condom use, both of which increase the risk of HIV contraction.
- In uninfected women, psychological distress was associated with engaging in transactional sex, engaging in sex work, and inconsistent condom use, all of which increase the risk of HIV contraction.
- Mental health issues can also interfere with HIV prevention efforts such as regular testing and medication adherence.
Low Social Support
- In a study published in the Industrial Psychiatry Journal in 2017, it was found that of cognitive, physical, emotional, social, and philosophical coping resources, HIV-positive men scored the lowest in social coping resources.
- This indicates these individuals are not "embedded in social networks that are able to provide support in times of stress."
- Approximately one-third of HIV-positive men in the study published in the Industrial Psychiatry Journal had high neuroticism scores.
- High scores in the neuroticism domain "signifies people who have a tendency to experience negative effects such as fear, sadness, and anger; maladjustment is seen in many facets and thus individuals who score less on neuroticism are emotionally stable and calm."
- Other studies have shown that high neuroticism scores tend to be positively correlated with risky sexual behaviors; however, the results are mixed, with others who have scored high in the neuroticism domain engaging less in risky health behaviors.
- Overall, though, studies indicate that lower neuroticism scores "define an emotionally stable person who is able to hold on his/her impulses, thus a relatively higher score in this domain highlights the behavioral problems in this group of patients, possibly leading to high-risk behaviors."
- Neuroticism is also linked to lower coping skills, as "neuroticism predicts exposure to interpersonal stress and tendencies to appraise events as highly threatening and coping resources as low."
- People who have high neuroticism scores generally predict less "problem-solving and cognitive restructuring."
- HIV-positive males tend to score lower on the agreeable scale, which indicates they are generally egocentric and have lower levels of conscientiousness.
- Various studies have found that low agreeableness scores often predict high-risk sexual behavior.
- High levels of disagreeableness are often linked with significant interpersonal conflicts and social stress.
Low Levels of Conscientiousness
- There is evidence that people who score lower on the conscientiousness scale "are more hedonistic and interested in sex."
- In uninfected individuals, low scores of conscientiousness have been linked with high-risk behavior.
- In infected individuals, high scores of conscientiousness have been linked with slower disease progression.
- Lower levels of conscientiousness also tend to correlate with higher stress exposure.
- Although high extroversion scores are associated with slow disease progression in infected individuals due to a lower risk of social isolation, they are also associated with riskier behaviors in uninfected individuals.
- Extroversion alone does not appear to be negatively linked with high-risk behavior, but when combined with high neuroticism scores and low agreeable and conscientiousness scores, extroversion points to the "tendency of being impulsive with a lower self-control regarding pleasurable activities and thus highlights, in totality, a high risk-taking personality."
- A study published in 2018 indicated that "substance use has been shown to increase the risk of HIV infection." Therefore, it is assumed that individuals who choose a lifestyle that includes substance abuse are more likely to contract HIV.
- Nearly 50% of HIV-infected individuals have reported "current or past histories of drug or alcohol disorders."
- People who abuse substances can be up to 10 times as likely to contract HIV as non-substance users.
- Drug use has shown to be associated with "increased risk of opportunistic infections" such as HIV.
- Minority stressors that are commonly associated with the LGBTQ population, such as "homophobia (internal and external), machismo, racism, prejudice, and injustices," can often "result in psychological distress that can lead to risky sexual behaviors putting this population at higher risk for HIV and STDs"
- For instance, in the study "HIV in Sexual and Gender Minority Populations," it was stated that "transgender women have 35 times the risk of acquiring HIV infection than other adults of reproductive age, and HIV prevalence is twice as high among African American transgender women compared with transgender women of other racial and ethnic groups."
- This increase in risk may be linked to the higher incidence of mental health disorders and psychological distress in transgender and gender non-binary individuals.
- Psychological distress can occur in these individuals due to "overlapping risk factors, including gender dysphoria, high rates of psychological and physical abuse, social exclusion, stigma, and victimization."
- As previously mentioned, psychological distress is associated with risky sexual behaviors, which are correlated with an increased risk of HIV contraction.
- Moreover, transgender women have a "higher prevalence of substance use disorders compared with the general population."
- As previously mentioned, substance abuse has been linked with a higher risk of HIV infection, therefore, if transgender women use substances at higher rates, then they are at an increased risk of contracting HIV as well.
Economically Dependent Partnerships
- According to a study conducted on young men who have sex with other men, economically dependent partnerships (EDP) are "both a survival method and a risk factor for HIV."
- One in five young men in the study started a new relationship with another man for economic needs.