“Psychologically and emotionally, it affects me ‘til this day”: exploration of childhood sexual abuse perspectives among older adults living with HIV in South Carolina

Coping strategies among older adults living with HIV/AIDS with history of childhood sexual abuse

“…This was also a major theme in our previous qualitative study. 20 Self-blame may be considered a maladaptive strategy as research has shown that it may be related to long term negative outcomes across the life course including self-isolation. 45 Some studies suggest that for CSA survivors to be able to fully use the adaptive coping strategies, they require additional resources such as income and other social support systems.…”

“…18,19 People living with HIV who are also CSA survivors may suffer from multiple adverse psychosocial outcomes due to the "double stigma" from HIV and CSA. 20 To navigate these emotions or stressors, CSA survivors and PLWH may resort to the use of a range of thoughts, behaviors, or processes often described as coping. 21 Coping strategies have been categorized into adaptive and maladaptive.…”

“Keep It to Yourself”: A Qualitative Study of HIV Disclosure Perspectives Among Older Adults Living With HIV in South Carolina Who Are Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors

“…The four team members independently collapsed the codes into themes and subthemes; met to resolve any discrepancies among identified themes and subthemes; and discussed the relationships between themes and subthemes (Brown et al, 2021a), and how well the themes reflect the participant's perspective of HIV disclosure. Our previous work with these data examined intervention program needs for older adults living with HIV who have a history of CSA (Brown et al, 2021a), explored CSA perspectives among older adults living with HIV (Brown et al, 2021b), and assessed psychosocial challenges among the study population (Hart et al, 2022). The reporting of the current study was guided by the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (Tong et al, 2007) and focused on HIV disclosure.…”

“…We used a semistructured interview guide to explore the potential link between childhood sexual trauma and aging with HIV. Interviewers used probe questions such as "tell me more about that" and encouraged participants to add more detail to their answers via repetition of the participant's last few words (Brown et al, 2021b). Questions on HIV disclosure asked participants if everyone in their support system knew that they were living with HIV with the following probes: "Who does and who doesn't?…”

“…Interviews were in-person and were audio-recorded. Interviews lasted from 16 to 62 min with the mean time of interviews being 31 min (Brown et al, 2021b). Interviews were conducted by T.J. or A.K., who were trained in qualitative interviewing techniques.…”