Determinants of psychological well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic among “people living with HIV/AIDS” in India

ABSTRACT

Using survey data on 647 “people living with HIV/AIDS” (PLHIV) respondents from India, we examine the association between human, economic, and social capital and psychological well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic, and whether pandemic-induced job and financial insecurity are significant stressors. We find that among human capital indicators, family health status results in a more positive mental state and fewer personal conflicts among PLHIV while having more working-age adults in the household results in more conflict. With regards to economic capital, PLHIV in salaried jobs and self-employment have a less positive mental state compared to those in daily wage work. Compared to daily wage workers, those in salaried jobs and self-employment exhibit lower addictive behavior. Self-employed PLHIV respondents also engage in fewer conflicts with their significant other. We do not find any correlation between social capital and psychological well-being. Job and financial insecurity are negatively associated with psychological well-being. While job insecurity is associated with an increase in addictive behavior, financial insecurity increases the likelihood of more frequent personal conflicts. We conclude that there is a need for greater economic and psychological support from institutions, community, and family to assuage the pandemic-induced psychological distress among PLHIV.

ABBREVIATIONS: ART: antiretroviral treatment; GSNP+: Gujarat State Network of Positive People; MHI: mental health inventory; OBC: other backward castes; PLHIV: people living with HIV/AIDS; SC: scheduled castes; SD: standard deviation; ST: scheduled tribes

KEYWORDS:

• Human capital
• economic capital
• social capital
• economic insecurity
• psychological well-being
• Covid-19

Acknowledgements

We thank Gujarat State Network of Positive People (GSNP+) for their support in data collection for this study. We are particularly thankful to the respondents for their participation in the study during such testing times. The findings, interpretations, conclusions, and any errors are entirely those of the authors and do not represent the official views of any of the institutions mentioned in the acknowledgements and funding sources. NC, VK, and RC conceptualized the study, designed the survey, and monitored the data collection. NC led the methodology and data analysis. NC and VK wrote the initial manuscript draft. VK and RC acquired the funding for the study. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, NC. The data are not publicly available as they contain personal information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Notes

1 In case of a non-response, the process of random selection continued till the desired proportion from each district was achieved.

2 Questions include: (i) During the past month, how much of the time were you a happy person? (ii) During the past month, how much of the time have you felt calm and peaceful? (iii) During the past month, how much of the time have you been a very nervous person? (iv) During the past month, how much of the time have you felt sad, low or depressed? (v) Overall in the last month, how much bodily aches or pains did you experience? The responses are coded on scale of 1 (all of the time) to 5 (none of the time).

3 Household asset index includes: ownership of house, motorized two-wheeler, car, television, refrigerator, air conditioner/air cooler, computer or laptop, and washing machine.

4 Social capital index includes: whether family lives nearby, membership of – mahila mandal, youth or sports club, employee union, self-help group, credit or savings group, religious group, social group, caste association, non-profit organization, agricultural or dairy co-operative, political party, or Lions/Rotary or similar club.

5 Financial insecurity index includes: trouble paying bills in the last one month; trouble paying loan installments in the last one month; not having enough money to buy food, clothes, and other households essentials in the last one month; not having enough money to pay for medical care in the last one month; and not being able to work out household finances by the end of the last month.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Small Research Project (SRP) fund of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.