The impact of HIV-related stigma on older and younger adults living with HIV disease: does age matter?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the independent influence of age on levels of HIV-related stigma experienced by adults living with HIV/AIDS. To accomplish this, cross-sectional data from the Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study were used to determine whether older age is associated with overall stigma among HIV-positive adults living in Ontario, Canada (n = 960). The relationship was also tested for enacted, anticipated, and internalized stigma. Covariates included sociodemographic (e.g., gender, sexual orientation, race) and psychosocial variables (e.g., depression). Modifying effects of covariates were also investigated. Those 55 and older have significantly lower overall and internalized stigma than adults under age 40, even when accounting for gender, sexual orientation, income, time since diagnosis, depression, maladaptive coping, and social support. Age does not predict enacted or Anticipated Stigma when accounting for the demographic and psychosocial variables. A significant interaction between depression and age suggests that stigma declines with age among those who are depressed but increases to age 50 and then decreases in older age groups among those who are not depressed. Age matters when it comes to understanding stigma among adults living with HIV/AIDS; however, the relationship between age and stigma is complex, varying according to stigma type and depression level.

Keywords:

• older adults
• HIV/AIDS
• stigma framework
• Canada
• depression

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the OHTN Cohort Study Governance Committee for their thoughtful comments on the original research proposal and protocol. We also wish to thank Anne Phillips, MSW, for her editorial contributions.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (to CAE) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (to DJB). The Ontario HIV Treatment Network provided additional support to two of the authors (TH & DJB).