Stress-Related Growth Among Women Living with HIV/AIDS: Examination of an Explanatory Model

Despite the increasing interest in the perceived benefits or growth resulting from stress and illness, there has been little investigation of the correlates of this stress-related growth, particularly among HIV-infected individuals. Following the Schaefer and Moos model (1992;1998), the association of affective states, coping, stressor characteristics, individual resources, and social resources with stress-related growth was examined among 138 women living with HIV/AIDS. Most women (63%) reported high levels of growth. Multivariate analyses revealed that positive reappraisal coping, and emotional support were associated with higher levels of growth, and depressive affect was negatively associated with growth. In addition, African American women reported more stress-related growth than that reported by White women. Stressor characteristics (i.e., disease stage, number of physical symptoms, and time since HIV diagnosis), self-esteem, perceived control, practical support, and positive affect were not associated with growth. These findings suggest that stress-related growth is more than positive reappraisal and the absence of negative affect, and that social resources may facilitate greater growth.