Study of personality disorders in AIDS patients with high risk behaviors

Background and ObjectivesAcquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has social, psychological, and biological consequences thereby changing it into a phenomenon that could threaten mental health of society and even those affected. Thus, in the present research we have aimed to study the two-way impacts of personality disorders and AIDS in patients exposed to high-risk behaviors. Materials and MethodsThe main purpose of this research is to perform a comparative study of personality and psychological disorders among HIV positive and negative individuals. Consequently, 60 people were selected as the sample group from whom 30 were the ones under treatment in Mashad Consultation Center for Infectious Diseases and Behavioral Disorders; the others were 30 non-infected people who were selected randomly. They all were assessed by means of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory–II. The obtained data were finally analyzed by the use of T-test and Man-withney test. ResultsThe results displayed the fact that HIV positive individuals compared with HIV negative ones suffered a higher level of emotional and behavioral disorders in their lifetime. Schizotypal personality, borderline disorder, paranoid, anxiety, dysthymia, alcohol and drug dependence, thought disorder, major depression and delusional disorder were the problems investigated. ConclusionsUnfavorable procedures of psychological growth can impair the personality development thereby making people susceptible to being infected with disease provoking factors including AIDS being affected with AIDS in turn can act as an effective variable in emergence of emotional and psychological impairments.