The predictive effect of stigmatization of people living with HIV anticipated by attitudes of health workers on psychopathological symptoms

HIV is a virus that is transmitted through blood or sexual transmission and, in the absence of treatment, damages the immune system and evolves to AIDS. Despite the elimination of transmission and unfavorable prognosis in case of treatment, the HIV epidemic still continues in the world. One of the strongest factors in the failure to control the epidemic is HIV stigmatization and discrimination. People living with HIV are also exposed to stigmatization and discrimination during diagnosis and treatment processes, which may lead to delayed diagnosis and/or decreased treatment adherence. Being exposed to stigmatization and discrimination is effective in the development of psychopathological symptoms. Although the stigmatization that people living with HIV expect and are exposed to during the diagnosis and treatment processes is discussed in literature, there is no standardized scale that measures this change. The aim of this study is to develop a scale that measures the stigmatization and discrimination that people living with HIV expect in the treatment processes and to examine the relationship between the stigmatization that people living with HIV expect in the diagnosis and treatment processes and psychopathological symptoms. In the first part of the study, 224 people living with HIV aged 18 and over were reached. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses were conducted to test the construct validity of the scale. According to the results of the analysis, a two-factor structure explaining 72% of the variance and having acceptable fit values according to the fit index emerged. The first factor was named "Anticipated Stigmatization in HIV Treatment" and the second factor was named "Anticipated Stigmatization on HIV Status". In order to test the convergent validity of the scale, its relationship with the HIV/AIDS Stigmatization Scale was examined. There was a significant and positive correlation between the two scales. In order to test the face validity of the scale, expert opinions were obtained from two infectious disease specialists, a clinical psychologist and an employee of an NGO providing HIV-related counseling services. In order to test the reliability of the scale, the internal consistency coefficients of the total score and factor structures were calculated. The internal consistency coefficients of the scale were found to be at a good level. The developed Stigmatization Expected in HIV Treatment Scale is adequate in terms of psychometric properties, but re-testing the psychometric properties by increasing the sample size and diversity within the sample will contribute to literature. In the second part of the study, the predictive effect of expected stigmatization in treatment on psychopathological symptoms in people living with HIV was examined using the Expected Stigmatization in HIV Treatment Scale. The sample of the second part of the study consisted of 101 people living with HIV between the ages of 18-25. In line with the literature, it was found that stigmatization expected in HIV treatment had a predictive effect on depression, anxiety, hostility, negative self and somatization symptoms. The findings were discussed in comparison with literature. All hypotheses put forward in the second chapter were confirmed, but the study also has important limitations. The two most important limitations are the sample size and within-sample diversity. Repeating the study by increasing the number of samples and diversity within the sample may contribute to the literature in terms of increasing the reliability of the findings. Keywords: HIV, Stigmatization, Psychopathology, HIV Treatment, HIV Stigmatization