LONG-TERM CHANGES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMATOLOGY ASSOCIATED WITH HIV SEROSTATUS AMONG MALE INJECTING DRUG-USERS

Objective: To examine long-term changes in psychological symptomatology from 6 to 24 months after notification of HIV serostatus among male injecting drug users (IDU). Design: Self-report and interview data were collected at 6-month intervals as part of a longitudinal study monitoring HIV infection and risk-associated behaviors among IDU. Setting: A community-based methadone-maintenance clinic. Participants: Ninety-seven male IDU (81 HIV-seronegative, 16 HIV-seropositive), including both methadone-maintained and out-of-treatment IDU. Main outcome measures: Analyses of long-term changes in psychological symptomatology associated with HIV serostatus among male IDU. Results: Analyses of long-term changes in psychological symptomatology between groups revealed no significantly greater levels of overall psychological distress or significant elevations on subscales of the Symptom Checklist-90 for HIV-seropositive compared with HIV-seronegative male IDU. Also, no significantly higher scores on the Beck Depression Inventory or the psychiatric composite score of the Addiction Severity Index were observed between groups. Conclusions: Our results suggest that HIV-seropositive male IDU do not express greater levels of psychological symptomatology from 6 to 24 months following notification of seropositivity compared with HIV-seronegative male IDU. Several explanations for these findings are considered. Future work should examine why male IDU do not report significant and long-term elevations in symptoms post-notification of HIV seropositivity. Also, studies of changes in psychological symptomatology as a function of HIV serostatus among female IDU need to be conducted to assess implications for treatment interventions among this underserved population.