Self-Reported Symptoms of Psychological Distress Experienced by Latinos Seeking HIV-Related Mental Health Care

摘要

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the symptoms of psychological distress presented by Latinos living with HIV/AIDS upon their self-enrollment into publicly funded HIV-related mental healthcare. Latinos in this sample presented for care with significantly lower levels of psychological distress than the normative sample across three dimensions of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI): obsessive compulsivity (p < .05), interpersonal sensitivity (p < .05), and anxiety (p < .05). Symptoms of somatization (p < .05) and paranoid ideation (p < .05) were significantly higher in this sample than the general population. It appears that Latinos are self-enrolling in mental healthcare services, but their presentations of levels of psychological distress are significantly different from those documented among the general population. These findings offer health professionals additional considerations that may increase the extent to which their services are responsive to the particular issues facing Latinos living with HIV.