Psychological and spiritual growth in women living with HIV

H T Dunbar1, C W Mueller, C Medina

  • 1School of Social Work, University of Hawaii, Honolulu 96822, USA.

Social Work
|April 7, 1998
PubMed

Women living with HIV and AIDS face tremendous obstacles to wellness, yet many find ways to use their experience of HIV as a vehicle for psychological and spiritual growth. A qualitative study was conducted to better understand this process. Thirty-four women living with various stages of HIV were interviewed. Five components were found to be important in their psychological and spiritual growth: reckoning with death, life affirmation, creation of meaning, self-affirmation, and redefining relationships. Implications for social work practice and future research are discussed.

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