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Hopelessness in i.v. drug users not in treatment and seeking HIV testing and counselling
R A Steer1, M Y Iguchi, J J Platt
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, School of Osteopathic Medicine, Camden.
Abstract:
The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) was administered to 2379 intravenous drug users who were not in treatment, unaware of their human-immunodeficiency-virus (HIV) status and seeking HIV testing and counselling. Three BHS principal components were identified reflecting resignation to the futility of changing the future, rejection of the possibility of a hopeful future, and acceptance of the inevitability of a hopeless future. The principal component scores representing these three dimensions were positively related to self-reported depression and suicidal ideation; the rejection scores were positively correlated with confirmed HIV seropositivity.