Suicidal ideas and coping in HIV-positives.

SUICIDE; SUICIDAL behavior; PSYCHOLOGICAL adaptation; HIV-positive gay men; HIV-positive men; HIV; PSYCHOLOGY

The article comments on a report by psychologists which suggests that suicidal thoughts reflect a coping effort among some homosexual men infected by the HIV virus who are symptom free. Suicidal thoughts reflect a coping effort, rather than anguish and depression, among some homosexual men infected with the AIDS-causing virus (HIV) but displaying no disease symptoms, psychologists suggest in a report. Stephen G. Schneider and his coworkers at the University of California, Los Angeles, assert that HIV-positive homosexuals who have recently experienced the AIDS-related illness or death of a partner or friend--and who believe they themselves cannot escape the immune-system disorder--may entertain suicidal thoughts to gain a sense of mastery over the uncontrollable threat posed by AIDS in their own lives. The 778 homosexual and bisexual men in the sample entered the study between August 1987 and October 1988. 170 of the men knew their HIV status. Surprisingly HIV-positive men with lower levels of the white blood cells used as markers of immune-system deterioration did not report more pronounced suicidal thoughts than did HIV-positives with healthier cell counts. Instead, the researchers found that loneliness and a lack of support from close friends in the past were associated with suicidal thinking among the infected volunteers.