It is not the disease itself, but social status, living conditions, gender and personality that have the greatest impact on the wellbeing of people with HIV. This is one of the conclusions drawn from years of analysis by researchers, who in August launched the first phase of another study . This time they want to find out to what extent does stress, as well as the social support given and received, affect feelings of stigma in HIV-positive people? Link to the study: https://linkd.pl/rcdp.
Marcin Rzeszutek, Ph.D., from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Warsaw, and Ewa Gruszczyńska, Ph.D., from the Institute of Psychology at the SWPS University, are among the few researchers who have been working on the topic of well-being of people with acquired immunodeficiency infection for more than a decade. - The results of previous projects have shown the importance of understanding the reasons why people living with HIV/AIDS feel social pressure or lack of acceptance, explains Professor Marcin Rzeszutek.
Researchers will spend the next year and a half looking at the biological, psychological and social aspects of people with HIV/AIDS to understand how the stress of infection and support from others affects their level of life satisfaction.
- This is a unique project, because its aim is to gain comprehensive and reliable knowledge on the quality of life with HIV/AIDS. The results of our research are supposed to improve the quality of life and well-being of infected people and inspire therapists in the development of adequate methods of psychological support, says Ewa Gruszczynska, PhD, from the SWPS University.
Quality of life survey for people with HIV available online
The survey is completely confidential and takes place in three phases carried out six months apart. Participants can complete the questionnaire online, including via smartphone, and the process takes no more than around 20 minutes. To take part in the survey, simply click here.
The project entitled. "The sense of HIV/AIDS stigma and its mechanisms in HIV-infected people: The role of minority stress and social support in two temporal perspectives' is carried out under a grant from the National Science Centre.