Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Dec;21 Suppl 5(Suppl 5):S5-13.
doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00642.x.

Spirituality and religion in patients with HIV/AIDS

Sian Cotton  1 , Christina M Puchalski, Susan N Sherman, Joseph M Mrus, Amy H Peterman, Judith Feinberg, Kenneth I Pargament, Amy C Justice, Anthony C Leonard, Joel Tsevat
Affiliations

Spirituality and religion in patients with HIV/AIDS

Sian Cotton et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2006 Dec.

Erratum in

  • J Gen Intern Med. 2009 Aug;24(8):994

Abstract

Background: Spirituality and religion are often central issues for patients dealing with chronic illness. The purpose of this study is to characterize spirituality/religion in a large and diverse sample of patients with HIV/AIDS by using several measures of spirituality/religion, to examine associations between spirituality/religion and a number of demographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables, and to assess changes in levels of spirituality over 12 to 18 months.

Methods: We interviewed 450 patients from 4 clinical sites. Spirituality/religion was assessed by using 8 measures: the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spirituality-Expanded scale (meaning/peace, faith, and overall spirituality); the Duke Religion Index (organized and nonorganized religious activities, and intrinsic religiosity); and the Brief RCOPE scale (positive and negative religious coping). Covariates included demographics and clinical characteristics, HIV symptoms, health status, social support, self-esteem, optimism, and depressive symptoms.

Results: The patients' mean (SD) age was 43.3 (8.4) years; 387 (86%) were male; 246 (55%) were minorities; and 358 (80%) indicated a specific religious preference. Ninety-five (23%) participants attended religious services weekly, and 143 (32%) engaged in prayer or meditation at least daily. Three hundred thirty-nine (75%) patients said that their illness had strengthened their faith at least a little, and patients used positive religious coping strategies (e.g., sought God's love and care) more often than negative ones (e.g., wondered whether God has abandoned me; P<.0001). In 8 multivariable models, factors associated with most facets of spirituality/religion included ethnic and racial minority status, greater optimism, less alcohol use, having a religion, greater self-esteem, greater life satisfaction, and lower overall functioning (R2=.16 to .74). Mean levels of spirituality did not change significantly over 12 to 18 months.

Conclusions: Most patients with HIV/AIDS belonged to an organized religion and use their religion to cope with their illness. Patients with greater optimism, greater self-esteem, greater life satisfaction, minorities, and patients who drink less alcohol tend to be both more spiritual and religious. Spirituality levels remain stable over 12 to 18 months.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A glance at the HIV/AIDS epidemic. [August 22, 2005]. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/PUBS/Facts/At-A-Glance.htm.
    1. Guillory JA, Sowell R, Moneyham L, Seals B. An exploration of the meaning and use of spirituality among women with HIV/AIDS. Altern Ther Health Med. 1997;3:55–60. - PubMed
    1. Richards TA, Folkman S. Spiritual aspects of loss at the time of a partner’s death from AIDS. Death Stud. 1997;21:527–52. - PubMed
    1. Schwartzberg SS. Struggling for meaning how HIV-positive gay men make sense of AIDS. Prof Psych: Res Pract. 1993;24:483–90.
    1. Fortunato JE. AIDS: The Spiritual Dilemma. New York: Harper and Row Publishers; 1987.

Publication types