Emotional health outcomes are influenced by sexual minority identity and HIV serostatus.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

For people living with HIV (PLWH) and sexual minorities (SM), the intersection of identities can compound experiences like stigma and discrimination resulting in poor emotional health. We investigated the separate and interactive associations of HIV serostatus and sexual identity with emotional health. Our dataset included 371 participants. Emotional health was assessed by the NIH Toolbox emotion battery which yields negative affect, social satisfaction, and psychological well-being. Regressions were conducted for each composite, with HIV serostatus, sexual identity, and their interaction as independent variables along with covariates. The HIV serostatus x SM identity interaction was statistically significant in the regression of Negative Affect (p = .01): heterosexuals living with HIV had worse Negative Affect compared to heterosexual HIV-persons (p = .01). The interaction terms were for social satisfaction and psychological well-being were not significant. However, among PLWH, sexual minorities reported better Social Satisfaction (p = .03) and marginally better psychological well-being (p = .07) compared to heterosexuals.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Nguyen, AL; Sundermann, E; Rubtsova, AA; Sabbag, S; Umlauf, A; Heaton, R; Letendre, S; Jeste, DV; Marquine, MJ

Published Date

  • September 2021

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 33 / 9

Start / End Page

  • 1127 - 1132

PubMed ID

  • 32590909

Pubmed Central ID

  • PMC7762728

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1360-0451

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1080/09540121.2020.1785998

Language

  • eng

Conference Location

  • England