Psychological pathways to HIV-related posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among people living with HIV in China: the mediating role of rumination

ABSTRACT

The occurrence of HIV-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compromises the physical and mental health of people living with HIV (PLWH). This study examined the psychological pathways of HIV-related PTSD symptoms considering the influence of rumination in PLWH of China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Changsha, China. The data were collected using the PTSD Checklist−Civilian Version, the Ruminative Response Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and measures of sociodemographic and HIV-related clinic characteristics. A total of 602 PLWH were surveyed. The average score of HIV-related PTSD symptoms was (34.54 ± 13.58). The mediation model showed that perceived social stigma and physical health exhibited direct associations with PTSD symptoms (β = 0.093, −0.145, respectively), while the direct relations of family support, friend support and significant others support to PTSD symptoms were not significant. Rumination mediated the effect of perceived social stigma (β = 0.077), physical health (β = −0.150), family support (β = −0.144) and friend support (β = −0.105) on PTSD symptoms. The study findings underscore the importance of routinely assessing PTSD for PLWH, and developing trauma-focused interventions that alleviate HIV-related PTSD symptoms and reduce rumination while improving social support and physical health and reducing social stigma.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV/AIDS
• posttraumatic stress disorder
• rumination
• social support
• stigma

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge all participants in this project.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate [grant number 1053320182614]; and the Innovation-Driven Project of Central South University [grant number 2019zzts091].