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Procedure Univariate Statistics □ The study was approved by the IRB at UNT. □ Participants were recruited from various AIDS service Participant Possible Calculated FOR ESS organizations in the Dallas Metroplex. Mean (SD) Ranae Range a HIV-RELATED □ All participants took an electronic survey that was of Situations transactional model, generated by the researchers using the Questionnaire TIGM conceptualized as is Development System (QDS). many negative effec 30.0 (6.0) 23-42 6-42 .62 □ All surveys took place at the Resource Center of Dallas due Loneliness to its convenient location and familiarity to the HIV community. ESS □ Prior to beginning the survey, each participant provided 22.3 (8.3) 10-40 10-40 .95 informed consent. HIV-Related Stigma :ervention researcn has found that the conced______□ Upon completion of the survey, participants were given $15 97.1 (22.5) 50-151 40-160 .95 forgiveness is a teachable skill that can be an effective copin for their participation as well as a debriefing form. □ Women living with HIV/AIDS (WLH) who utilize with a variety of health-related problems forgiveness techniques reported decreased ever, possible benefits of forgiveness with Bivariate Statistics perceptions of HIV-related stigma; further research may //AIDS needs to be further researched. Instruments delineate other health benefits of forgiveness. This study explores the potential for women living with □ HIV Stigma Scale (Berger et al, 2001) HIV/AIDS (WLH; n = 35), who have been stigmatized by - Reported a = .96; 40 likert-type items □ WLH who perceived themselves as lonely reported disease, to benefit from forgiveness training. - Responses: strongly disagree, disagree, agree, strongly agree Age - Sample item: “I work hard to keep my HIV a secret” higher levels of stigma. Although directionality cannot - Convergent Validity: Correlation with CES-Depression Scale: .62 be assessed, it may be that loneliness is a result of Single being stigmatized by disease. □ UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, 1996) African- - Reported a = .89-.94; 10 likert-type items American □ Forgiveness techniques represent an effective - Responses: often, sometimes, rarely, never # Children - Sample item: “How often do you feel completely alone?” coping strategy that WLH can incorporate into their - Validity: Correlation with Differential Loneliness Scale: .72 lives. Forgiveness may also increase social networking MH Client that may be linked with decreased loneliness. O Heartland Forgiveness Scale (Thompson et al, 2005) # in House - Forgiveness of Situations Subscale used Future Directions - Reported a = .77-.82; 6 likert-type items Forgiveness □ In addition to forgiveness of situations, researchers - Anchors: Almost always false of me (1), Almost always true of me (7) Situations need to understand other dimensions of forgiveness - Sample item: “I eventually make peace with bad decisions in my life.” that may affect health outcomes, such as forgiveness of - Validity: Correlation with Forgiveness of Self Scale : .51 Loneliness self and forgiveness of others. HIV Stigma Participants (n = 35) □ Forgiveness represents just one of many effective Mean (SD) Range p < .05, p < .0', p < .001 coping strategies that may reduce HIV-related stigma in Age 47.4 (8.9) 24-66 persons living with HIV/AIDS. Further research is Regression Analysis necessary to identify other effective coping strategies. Freguencv Percent Predictors HIV-related Stigma Ethnicity (African/African-American) 30 85.7% □ Possible moderating and mediating variables need to Relationship Status (Single) 25 71.4% p t Loneliness .57 4.38*** be researched in order to better understand the link Religious Affiliation (Christian) 32 91.4% between forgiveness, loneliness, and perceived HIV- Have Children (Yes) 24 . % Forgiveness of Situations -.30 -2.25* 68 6 related stigma Hypothese Father Deceased (Yes) 24 68.6% Mother Deceased (Yes) 12 34.4% F (2, 32) = 13.93***, Adjusted R2 = .43 ------Limitations------ving with HIV/AIDS who perceive 18 51.4% Have Support for HIV (Yes) □ Although our data is robust, the reliability coefficient Diagnosed with AIDS (Yes) 13 37.1% themselves as being more lonely will be p < .05, **p<.01,***p<.001 for our forgiveness scale was moderately low. more stigmatized by their disease. Mental Health Professional • Ever Seen (Yes) 29 82.9% Collinearity Statistics • Currently Seeing (Yes) 17 48.6% □ Neither causal relationships nor directionality of 2. Women living with HIV/AIDS who tend to Total Number in House Tolerance VIF variables can be inferred due to the cross-sectional give situations once they occur will • 1 (live alone) 14 40.0% Loneliness .98 1.02 correlational nature of the study. •2 25.7% report lower levels of perceived HIV-related 9 Forgiveness of Situations .98 1.02 •3 8 22.9% stigma. • 4+ 4 11.5% Dependent Variable = HIV-related Stigma □ Please refer to handout for references. Center for Psychosocial Health UNIVERSITY 0F NORTH TEXAS