The role of resiliency in coping with stress and stigma in people infected with HIV

Introduction:The purpose of this article was to present the results of own research on the role of resiliency in coping with stress in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the perceived level of stress in people at risk of stigma, the aspect of experiencing stress, and existence of a relationship with personal resource of resiliency.This paper also compared the level of perceived stress in seropositive people with a group of people with a diagnosis of psycho-active substance addiction, and with people without addiction and HIV infection. Material and methods:The research was conducted using a questionnaire based on the perceived stress questionnaire, resilience scale, and HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) stress scale.A total of 151 adults participated in the study, which was conducted at the Social Readjustment Centre.Data on comparison group of HIV-negative persons without a diagnosis of addiction were collected using online forms. Results:The results obtained showed that people living with HIV and those suffering from psychoactive substance addiction demonstrated lower levels of perceived stress than people without diagnoses.The study also revealed that all dimensions of experiencing stress were negatively correlated with factors of resilience, a trend observed in all three groups of subjects. Conclusions:The data obtained in the study suggest that resiliency may be of importance in the process of self-regulation of emotions among HIV-positive people.