Resilience, and Personality Traits as Independent Correlates of Perceived Treatment Management Abilities in Middle-Aged and Older People Living with HIV

As people living with HIV (PLWH) age, they face various stressors that may negatively affect HIV treatment adherence and management. Resilience and personality characteristics have demonstrated associations with better health outcomes among people with various health conditions. The present study examines the association between dispositional resilience, the Big Five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism), and locus of control with self-reported perceived HIV treatment management ability among middle-aged and older PLWH. This cross-sectional study included 174 PLWH aged 40 years and older. Treatment management ability was measured by a composite of three HIV health-related perceived treatment management ability measures. After conducting correlations to determine independent variables, a multivariable linear regression predicting treatment management ability was conducted with resilience, all Big Five personality traits, locus of control, and conceptually relevant covariates (health literacy, race, SES, substance use, depression), using a stepwise approach to determine the optimal number of predictors. The overall model predicting treatment management ability was significant, (F(5,142) = 20.348, p < .001, Adjusted R² = 0.40), and this model retained resilience, openness, depression, and health literacy. Follow up mediation analysis found that resilience partially mediated the association between openness and treatment management ability. Resilience, openness, depression, and health literacy are important psychosocial factors related to treatment management ability. Interventions targeting resilience, openness to new information, depression, and health literacy may improve HIV treatment management abilities and ultimately health outcomes among older PLWH.