The Role of Emotional Schemas in Resilience of People living with HIV

HIV infection affects a person''s life in all aspects of social، economic، health and mental health conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between emotional schemas and resilience to HIV infection. 130 HIV infected people from the counseling center of behavioral illness of Imam Khomeini hospital were selected by convenience method. Data was collected using the resiliency and emotional schemas questionnaires. The data were analyzed using the statistical software (SPSS. 18)، Pearson correlation and stepwise regression methods. Stepwise regression analysis showed that 38% of total variance of resiliency in HIV infected people is predicted by four emotional schemas; rumination، validation by others، simplistic view، and acceptance of feeling (P<0. 05). There is a significant positive correlation between adaptive emotional schemas (such as expression، validation by others; simplistic view، higher value، agreement، and acceptance of feeling) and resiliency. Moreover، there is a negative correlation between maladaptive emotional schema such as rumination and resiliency. This study showed that the emotional schemas are significant predictors of resiliency in people living with HIV. Therefore، identifying and modifying maladaptive emotional schema through psychological intervention can be helpful in increasing resilience of people living with HIV.