Identity, threat and coping among gay men living with HIV in Finland

Jaspal, R ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8463-9519, Eriksson, P and Nynäs, P, 2021. Identity, threat and coping among gay men living with HIV in Finland. Cogent Psychology, 8 (1): 1878980.

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Abstract

A qualitative interview study was conducted to understand the psychological impact of living with HIV among gay men in Finland. Seventeen gay men living with HIV were recruited at HIV support charities in Finland. The data were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. The analysis yielded three themes: (1) Self-Stigma and Threatened Self-Esteem; (2) Managing the Assimilation-Accommodation of HIV; and (3) Reconstrual of HIV, Its Meaning and Implications. Self-stigma was pervasive across participants’ accounts and appeared to impede the assimilation-accommodation of HIV in identity. The ability to reconstrue the meanings of HIV and its implications (from something negative to something positive) can facilitate the assimilation-accommodation of HIV in identity, restoring self-esteem, continuity and self-efficacy. The ability to reconstrue HIV may be an important determinant of psychological wellbeing. This should be the focus of behavioral and clinical interventions for enhancing psychological wellbeing in this population.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Cogent Psychology
Creators:	Jaspal, R., Eriksson, P. and Nynäs, P.
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Date:	2021
Volume:	8
Number:	1
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1080/23311908.2021.1878980 DOI 1408148 Other
Rights:	© 2021 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	15 Feb 2021 15:43
Last Modified:	31 May 2021 15:06
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/42305

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