The Moderating Role of Sexual Identity in Group Teletherapy for Adults Aging with HIV

Abstract

Older adults living with HIV/AIDS experience high rates of depression and suicidal ideation but are less likely than their younger counterparts to seek psychological services. HIV continues to disproportionately impact older men who have sex with men (MSM), many of whom were infected in their 20s and 30s. This study examined whether therapy attendance rates and the efficacies of two group-format teletherapies for the treatment of depression (coping effectiveness group training and supportive-expressive group therapy) were comparable for older MSM and older heterosexuals living with HIV. Intervention-outcome analyses found that older MSM and older heterosexuals living with HIV attended comparable numbers of teletherapy sessions. Older heterosexuals living with HIV who received telephone-administered supportive-expressive group therapy reported significantly greater reductions in depressive symptoms than SOC controls. A similar pattern was not found in older MSM. More research is needed to personalize and tailor group teletherapies for older MSM living with HIV.

Keywords:

• aging
• depression
• HIV
• teletherapy

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors extend their appreciation to the many AIDS-related organizations that collaborated on this study and to all study participants. They also thank Dr. David Spiegel and Dr. Cheryl Gore-Felton for generously providing the research team with a copy of their SEGT manual that was adapted for use in this study.

Additional information

Funding

The project described was supported by Grants RO1 MH078749 and RO1 MH087462 from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIMH, the NINR, or the NIH. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00365690.