RELATIONSHIPS OF RELIGION, HEALTH STATUS, AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE HIV POSITIVE

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Abstract
The present study tested three hypotheses about the quality of life of individuals who are HIV positive. It was hypothesized that quality of life among HIV-positive individuals would be directly related to their (1) health status, (2) religious affiliation, and (3) religious faith. A correlational design was used with a nonrandom sample of 40 subjects (32 males and 8 females) who were HIV positive. Bivariate analyses were conducted to obtain intercorrelational among several independent variables, including two measures of religion (religious affiliation and a composite measure of religious faith), number of symptoms, level of physical functioning, and various demographic measures, including socioeconomic status. Stepwise regression confirmed all three hypotheses, revealing that four independent variables made significant, positive contributions to subjects' scores on the Quality of Life Index (QLI). These were socioeconomic status, religious affiliation (affiliation vs. no affiliation), religious faith, and a combined measure of health status based upon the participants' number of symptoms and Karnofsky Performance Status. The other independent variables (age, ethnicity, and gender) did not make significant contributions to the regression model, accounting for only 2.3% of the variance in the QLI.

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