Avoidance as a Predictor of the Biological Course of HIV Infection Over a 7-Year Period in Gay Men

• Published in: Health psychology 1999-03, Vol.18 (2), p.107-113
• Main Authors: Mulder, Cornelis L, de Vroome, Ernest M. M, van Griensven, Godfried J. P, Antoni, Michael H, Sandfort, Theo G. M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; AIDS; AIDS/HIV; Avoidance; Biological course; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Coping Behavior; Coping strategies; Denial (Psychology); Disease Course; Disease Progression; Follow-Up Studies; HIV; HIV Seropositivity - psychology; Homosexuality, Male - psychology; Homosexuals; Human; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Internal-External Control; Male; Male Homosexuality; Men; Middle Aged; Prediction; Predictors; Sick Role
• ISSN: 0278-6133; 1930-7810
• DOI: 10.1037/0278-6133.18.2.107

The present study prospectively investigated the relation between avoidance coping and active cognitive and behavioral coping and the progression of HIV infection over 7 years in 181 gay men. Findings revealed that for a number of medical and behavioral factors, (a) avoidance coping predicted a lower rate of decline in CD4 cells, (b) the proportional hazard (PH) attributable to avoidance of developing a syncytium-inducing HIV variant was 0.72 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.53 − 0.99, p < .05), and (c) the PH attributable to avoidance of dropping below 200 CD4 cells/μl was 0.66 (95% CI: 0.50 − 0.89, p < .01). Avoidance coping was not related to the development of AIDS-defining clinical symptoms. Active cognitive and behavioral coping was not related to the outcome measures.