Description
Purpose: Hispanics living in the United States tend to be more religious and spiritual than Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW). Yet, little is known about rates of religiosity and spirituality among Hispanic people living with HIV (PLHIV), and whether religiosity and spirituality may have an effect on health outcomes in this group. The aims of the study were to (1) assess differences in religiosity and spirituality among Hispanic and NHW PLHIV, (2) examine the associations of religiosity and spirituality with depressive and HIV-related health outcomes, and (3) determine whether religiosity and spirituality mediated the associations between ethnicity and these health outcomes. Participants: The research sample consisted of 130 adults with HIV aged 50 and older (64 Hispanic, 66 NHW) who participated in a cohort study at the University of California San Diego. Method: Religiosity and spirituality were measured using the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiosity and Spirituality, specifically the Daily Spiritual Experiences and Private Religious Practices subscales. The Beck Depression Inventory II was used to measure depressive symptoms. HIV disease characteristics included the Veteran Aging Cohort Study (VACS) Index, plasma CD4 cell count and HIV viral load. Linear regression models were conducted to examine the first and second aims. Mediation analyses were conducted to investigate the third aim. Significant differences in demographic variables by ethnicity (based on independent sample t-tests and chi-square tests) were entered as covariates in these models. Results: Hispanic PLHIV had significantly higher rates of religious practices and daily spiritual experiences than NHW PLHIV (p’s<.01). After controlling for significant covariates (age, gender, total years of education, and personal income), religious practices continued to be significantly higher among Hispanics (p=.03) with no ethnic differences on spiritual experiences (p=.17). Religiosity and spirituality were not significantly associated with health outcomes. Lastly, religiosity and spirituality did not mediate the associations between ethnicity and depressive and HIV-related health outcomes. Conclusion: Future research should examine the associations that positive and negative religious and spiritual coping strategies have on HIV-related physical and mental health outcomes among diverse PLHIV. Such findings might help best inform the development of culturally-relevant interventions aimed at improving health outcomes among PLHIV.
