The effect of age of diagnosis and sexual orientation on depression and anxi̇ety on newly diagnosed HIV-positive individuals

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of age of diagnosis and sexual orientation on depression and anxiety on newly diagnosed HIV-positive individuals. The purpose of this study is to compare the demographic information of the Beck Depression and Beck Anxiety Scale applied by the Pozitif Yaşam Association psychologists on the new HIV positive patients who were referred to the Pozitif Yaşam Association established to provide support to the HIV positive people in the study since 01.12.2016. This study was conducted on individuals who are diagnosed HIV-positive, after diagnosis, that are above 18 years old, between the first and second months after diagnosis, who do not use any psychiatric drug and not taking any psychological support, have no extra medical condition, by Pozitif Yaşam Association with the help of Beck Depression and Beck Anxiety Scale and the data provided through the data analyzing form regarding their sexual orientation and age. As a result of the study, it was concluded that majority of the HIV-positive patients have a higher rate of depression and anxiety. The riskiest group regarding the depression and anxiety is 18-24 years old homosexual patients, the group with the less risk is 34-45 years old heterosexual patients.