Coping strategies of HIV patients with peripheral neuropathy.

Publication Type	Academic Article
Authors	Griswold G, Evans S, Spielman L, Fishman B
Journal	AIDS Care
Volume	17
Issue	6
Pagination	711-20
Date Published	08/01/2005
ISSN	0954-0121
Keywords	Adaptation, Psychological, HIV Infections, Pain, Peripheral Nervous System Diseases
Abstract	The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between coping strategies and reports of with pain and distress in patients with HIV-related peripheral neuropathy. Seventy-eight HIV seropositive subjects completed the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ), a self-report measure that assesses seven factors, the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Bivariate correlations revealed that younger patients used more Praying-Hoping (r=-.23, p<.04) and Catastrophizing (r=-.30, p<.007). t-tests demonstrated that women used more Praying-Hoping (t(76) = 3.42, p<.01), while Hispanic and African American patients used more Praying-Hoping more than Caucasians (F (1,77) = 22.11, p=.0005). Catastrophizing significantly predicted higher scores on the BDI (t=2.968, p=.004), the Global Severity Index (GSI) of the Brief Symptom Inventory BSI (t=2.400, p=.02); and pain interference on the Brief Pain Inventory BPI (t=2.996, p=.004) controlling for age, gender, and ethnic background. These results demonstrate that coping strategies may differ according to age, gender, and ethnic background in an HIV population, and that Catastrophizing predicts distress and interference with functioning in this sample.
DOI	10.1080/09540120412331336715
PubMed ID	16036257