Relationship Functioning & Immune Health in HIV+ Latinas: A longitudinal analysis

University Of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Despite the fact that HIV infection has soared amongst heterosexual women of color, Latinas are consistently underrepresented in HIV research (Carmona, Romero & Loeb, 1999). Latinas are at increased risk for HIV due cultural inhibitions of condom use, idealized gender roles, and idealization of romantic relationships (East, 1998). Yet these relationships, when chronically stressful, can exacerbate mental health problems such as depression (Hammen, 2005), and long-term effects of poor immune response (Robles & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2003); it is thus imperative to examine the effects of couple conflict and depression on HIV+ Latinas' morbidity and mortality. This study aims to investigate the links between relationship functioning and immune functioning, as measured by CD4 cell count and prevalence of gynecological problems, over time and how depression may mediate these links, in both HIV+ and HIV- heterosexual Latinas. Its results will thus be useful in understanding and creating new public health prevention and intervention methods aimed at ethnic minority women. I am using a sub-sample of HIV-positive (N=97) and HIV-negative Latinas (N=52) from the University of California-Los Angeles Charles Drew Medical Center Women and Family Project, a longitudinal study examining the impact of HIV on women's lives (see Wyatt & Chin, 1992). The data has been collected and I will specifically analyze data spanning across two years, using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) and path analysis and focusing on measures of relationship quality, depression, CD4 cell levels, and gynecological problems. In accordance with the stress/social support hypothesis, a theory that accounts for the varied effects of stress and social support in couple relationships on physiological health (Burman & Margolin, 1992), I predict that poor relationship functioning over time will be associated with decreased CD4 levels and a higher prevalence of gynecological problems, and that depression will mediate these associations. My proposed study is highly relevant to public health research in innovative and important ways. First, my project is unique in that I am looking at HIV-positive Latinas, a population that has been overlooked in HIV research despite the fact that HIV infection is the fourth leading cause of death amongst Hispanic women (CDC, 2004). Moreover, as there is a dearth of longitudinal studies in HIV research, my project will contribute a more comprehensive picture of the intricate interplay between relationships, immune regulation, and mental health. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]