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Exploring Coping and Social Support with Gender and Education Among People Living with HIV in China

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Abstract

Social support promotes positive coping strategies among people living with HIV (PLH); however, little is known about the various aspects of social support and their distinct effects on coping. The present study investigates the specific links between coping and perceived social support with respect to gender and education among PLH. A total of 522 PLH in Anhui, China, participated in an assessment that collected data on demographics, perceived tangible and emotional support, and cognitive and behavioral coping. The assessment was conducted using the computer-assisted personal interviewing method. The data were analyzed using linear mixed models. Emotional support was significantly associated with both cognitive and behavioral coping. Tangible support was significantly associated with behavioral coping but not with emotional coping. Women reported significantly lower levels of emotional support, cognitive coping, and behavioral coping than men did. Significant associations between tangible support and coping were found only among illiterate males. Women living with HIV are in greater need of social support and coping strategies. Future interventions should be gender specific, with targeted support for women with lower education levels to enhance their coping strategies.

Resumen

El apoyo social promueve estrategias positivas de afrontamiento entre las personas viviendo con el VIH (PVV). Sin embargo, poco es sabido sobre los aspectos variados del apoyo social y sus efectos distintos del afrontamiento. Este estudio investiga las enlaces específicas entre el afrontamiento y el apoyo social percibido con el respeto al genero y la educación entre PVV. Un total de 522 PVV de Anhui, China participaron en la evaluación la cual colectaba data demográfico, data del apoyo emocional y perceptivo, y data del afrontamiento cognitivo y conductual. La evaluación fue analizado usando modelos mixtos y lineales. El apoyo emocional era asociado significativamente con el afrontamiento conductual pero no con el afrontamiento cognitivo. El apoyo tangible era asociado significativamente con el afrontamiento conductual per no con el afrontamiento emocional. Las mujeres reportaron niveles del apoyo emocional, del afrontamiento cognitivo, y del afrontamiento conductual significadamente bajos que los hombres. Encontraron las asociaciones significados entre el apoyo tangible y el apoyo cognitivo entre los hombres analfabetos. Las mujeres viviendo con VIH necesitan mas apoyo social con estrategias del afrontamiento. Las intervenciones futuros deben ser diseñados según el genero, con el apoyo dirigido para las mujeres con bajos niveles de educación para que mejoren sus estrategias del afrontamiento.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development/NIH under Grant [R01HD068165]. We would like to thank our project team members in Anhui, China for their contributions to this study. We also thank Lauren Core for her assistance in literature search.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, 10920 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 350, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA

    Li Li, Chunqing Lin & Li-Jung Liang

  2. Anhui Center for Woman and Child Health, Hefei, China

    Guoping Ji

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  1. Li Li
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Correspondence to Li Li.

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All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients.

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All authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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Li, L., Lin, C., Liang, LJ. et al. Exploring Coping and Social Support with Gender and Education Among People Living with HIV in China. AIDS Behav 20, 317–324 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-015-1232-6

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