Detailed analysis of social support and proactive coping with depressive symptoms in Japanese HIV-infected individuals

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to determine the association of the type of social support and proactive coping with depressive symptoms (DS) in Japanese people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV), in order to select effective psychosocial care or intervention. Questionnaires were anonymously collected from randomly recruited participants. The questionnaire included items on demographic characteristics, HIV treatment-related factors, DS, social support, and coping. Hierarchical binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with DS. A total of 564 patients completed the questionnaire and 207 (37%) patients reported DS. Demographic factors, such as drug-use-related disorders [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 7.21, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 1.95–26.70], unemployment (AOR 3.06, 95%CI 1.50–6.27) and younger age (AOR 0.96, 95%CI 0.94–0.99) were significantly associated with DS. With regard to coping, higher levels of instrumental support seeking (AOR 1.09, 95%CI 1.01–1.18), lower levels of proactive coping (AOR 0.91, 95%CI 0.87–0.96) and lower levels of emotional support seeking (AOR 0.82, 95%CI 0.72–0.92) were significantly associated with DS. Our results highlight the need for psychosocial care to enhance or compensate proactive coping and emotional support seeking abilities in DS. Healthcare workers should pay attention to the mental health of young unemployed PLHIV with drug-use-related disorders.