Psychological resilience is an independent correlate of health-related quality of life in middle-aged and older adults with HIV in the Deep South

Abstract

Older people living with HIV (PLWH) are at risk for poorer health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Psychological resilience may protect HRQoL in this population. The sample included 174 predominately African American PLWH (age 40–73). Results indicated associations between resilience, socioeconomic status, cognitive performance, instrumental activities of daily living, personality, and depressive symptoms. HIV factors (e.g. viral load, duration of HIV) were not associated with resilience. Adjusting for confounders, resilience was associated with mental HRQoL. Understanding factors associated with resilience among older PLWH and the translation of resilience to HRQoL may inform interventions to improve well-being among individuals aging with HIV.

The Association Between Intrapersonal Resilience Resources and Quality of Life Among Older Persons Living With HIV: A Systematic Review

“…Fumaz et al (2015) reported that less than 20% of their sample had low resilience, suggesting limited variability of participants with high and low resilience and ultimately influencing the results. Hopkins et al (2022) noted that the lack of association between resilience and physical QoL is consistent with some prior research that suggest that psychological factors may not always play a significant role in physical health and well-being. Overall, the association between resilience resources and QoL remained consistent across studies from different countries, suggesting that resilience is a universal resource across cultures.…”

“…Hopkins et al (2022) examined the association between trait resilience and QoL among 174 middle-aged and older PWH (mean age 51.30 years, SD = 7.03). In bivariate correlation analysis, resilience was positively associated with better physical ( r = .20, p < .01) and mental ( r = .42, p < .01) HRQoL.…”

“…This could be attributed to the small sample size (N 5 31) and the lack of power to detect significant associations. Two studies found no association with trait resilience and QoL (Fumaz et al, 2015;Hopkins et al, 2022). Fumaz et al (2015) reported that less than 20% of their sample had low resilience, suggesting limited variability of participants with high and low resilience and ultimately influencing the results.…”

“…Data analysis. All 19 of the studies examined resilience resources through bivariate correlation analyses of QoL; however, 10 studies (Brown et al, 2023;Emlet et al, 2013Emlet et al, , 2017Emlet et al, , 2020Fumaz et al, 2015;Hopkins et al, 2022;Kteily-Hawa et al, 2019;Slater et al, 2013;SoleimanvandiAzar et al, 2021;Xu et al, 2018) further examined associations between resilience resources and QoL outcomes in multivariable analyses. Five studies (Drewes et al, 2021;Fang et al, 2015;Huang et al, 2018;Porter et al, 2017Porter et al, , 2019 investigated the mediating role of resilience resources, whereas no study examined its potential moderating role.…”

Thinking With Community: A Critique of Resilience and Well-being

“…Resilience and well-being are concepts that have been documented extensively. To date, most of this literature (Hopkins et al, in press; Ungar, 2019) ascribes these concepts as individual attributes that help people overcome health challenges to achieve an optimal level of health. The narrow focus of these concepts limits the ability of individuals and societies to achieve health.…”