ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the degree of HIV-risk knowledge among patients attending a downtown program and to identify the extent of high-risk behaviour for HIV infection. METHOD: A total of 151 patients were selected at the Calgary Community Mental Health Clinic (N = 110) and the nearby Self Help Association (N = 41). Most of the subjects were being treated for either schizophrenia (n = 69), bipolar disorder (n = 37), or unipolar mood disorder (n = 35). Questionnaires included a 10-item instrument that assessed subjects' knowledge about HIV or AIDS and another 10-item tool that assessed the high-risk situations patients might have encountered over the past month or past year. RESULTS: Although the percentage of subjects erring on questions about AIDS knowledge was smaller when compared with previous studies, a significant number of subjects believed that one could acquire AIDS by donating blood, and 25% did not think that having only one unsafe sexual contact would make them vulnerable to HIV infection. At least 50% of the participants have had sex with at least one partner in the past year, and 33% of the participants indicated that they would not insist that they or their partners wear a condom. CONCLUSIONS: This Canadian study confirms the need for psychiatrists and mental health workers to continue to explore high-risk behaviour in the chronic mentally ill population and to further educate these patients through the development of prevention and risk-reduction strategies.
Subject(s)
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/psychology , Bipolar Disorder/psychology , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Health Behavior , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Risk-Taking , Schizophrenic Psychology , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/prevention & control , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/transmission , Adult , Bipolar Disorder/rehabilitation , Condoms , Depressive Disorder/rehabilitation , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Patient Care Team , Patient Education as Topic , Schizophrenia/rehabilitation , Sexual BehaviorABSTRACT
A psychiatric examination was conducted on 144 patients at various stages of HIV infection and on 29 controls found to be seronegative. One-half of the control group had at least one DSM-III-R Axis I diagnosis, most commonly cannabis abuse, alcohol abuse, or adjustment disorder. Compared to this baseline, HIV-infected subjects had higher rates of adjustment disorder. AIDS patients were also more likely to suffer from organic mental disorder. The rate of unemployment increased as the disease progressed. Major depression was seen in only ten patients, and there were no differences between controls and HIV-infected subjects. Formal assessment of mood state and feelings of pessimism also showed no differences among the groups. The importance of helping improve the patient's lifestyle through the control of alcohol and drug abuse is underscored.
Subject(s)
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/complications , Mental Disorders/epidemiology , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/diagnosis , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/epidemiology , Adult , Age Factors , Attitude to Health , Comorbidity , Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Life Style , Longitudinal Studies , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Neurocognitive Disorders/diagnosis , Neurocognitive Disorders/epidemiology , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Risk Factors , Sexual Behavior , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
The authors examined levels of psychosocial distress and well-being in 65 gay or bisexual men infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); 24 of these men had asymptomatic HIV infection, 22 had acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related complex, and 19 had AIDS. All of the men evidenced high levels of psychosocial distress, but those with AIDS-related complex and those with asymptomatic HIV infection were significantly more distressed than those with AIDS. Corresponding differences were not observed in feelings of psychosocial well-being. The authors conclude that specific psychosocial issues and adaptive demands should be identified over the course of HIV illness.
Subject(s)
AIDS-Related Complex/psychology , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/psychology , Attitude to Health , Bisexuality , HIV Seropositivity/psychology , Homosexuality/psychology , Life Change Events , Adult , Anxiety/diagnosis , Depression/diagnosis , Humans , Male , Mood Disorders/diagnosisABSTRACT
This paper traces the origin of the term "homosexual panic" when it was first described in 1920 to the Freudian bisexual theory of sexual development and the concepts of repressed and latent homosexuality, and questions the appropriateness of this term when used to diagnose as well as to describe different situations. Concerns are raised especially when dealing with conditions ranging from violent behaviour to outright psychotic episodes. Homosexual panic is also compared with pseudohomosexuality, and finally correlated with society's homophobic attitudes.
Subject(s)
Adjustment Disorders/psychology , Fear , Homosexuality , Panic , Psychotic Disorders/psychology , Adult , Aggression/psychology , Gender Identity , Humans , Male , Psychoses, Substance-Induced/psychologyABSTRACT
This study compared the criminal behaviour of schizophrenic patients with a group of hospitalized medical patients who were matched on the basis of age and sex. In addition to the typically employed dependent measure of offense conviction, this study also examined antisocial personality traits, undetected criminal behaviours, criminal charges, and incarceration. No significant differences between the groups were found across offense type (against property, against persons, victimless and motor vehicle violations). Schizophrenic patients, however, were found to be at greater risk for being victims of a violent offense when compared to the control group which seemed to be at a greater risk for becoming victims of non-violent crime.
