Mental health correlates of HIV-related resilience among older gay men living with HIV/AIDS in New York City: The GOLD studies

Abstract

Introduction:

Older adults represent the greatest proportion of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in the U.S. and sexual minority men continue to be disproportionally impacted. As PLWHA age, they face multiple mental and psychosocial health challenges that may impact their overall health and well-being. Resilience may act as a buffer against these challenges.

Method:

Associations between HIV-related resilience and mental health endorsements were examined among older HIV-positive gay men in New York City.

Result:

Multivariate analyses indicate those with higher levels of HIV-related resilience were more likely to have lower levels of PTSD and substance dependence and were also more likely to feel financially secure.

Conclusion:

While further research will help better understand the role resilience has on overall health and well-being of older gay PLWHA, utilizing this perspective can yield important insights that can be used to shift toward strengths-based service and programmatic approaches for this population.

Keywords:

• HIV/AIDS
• mental health
• resilience
• gay men
• aging

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Drs. Mark Brennan-Ing, Leslie Kantor, and Paul Duberstein for their insight and edits provided on the original version of this manuscript.

Ethics statement

Ethical approval for this study was gained from the Institutional Review Boards at New York University (IRB-FY2017-327) and Rutgers University (Pro20170001986).

Disclosure statement

The author(s) declare the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Dr. Halkitis and Dr. Krause have received research funding from Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb that is unrelated to this project.

Funding

This research was funded by the New York University Provost Mega Grants Initiative.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Kristen D. Krause, upon reasonable request.