| The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between self-enhancement and physical health and psychological well-being in gay men with HIV disease. Individuals high in self-enhancement show a positively inflated or unrealistically enhanced sense of self. There exists controversy in the psychology literature as to the benefits and liabilities of self-enhancement. While the historical model of mental health regards self-enhancement negatively and warns of its costs to social relationships and overall psychological adjustment, recent literature, referred to as the positive illusions approach, considers this characteristic to be adaptive, with particular benefits for individuals undergoing adverse experiences.; Participants in the study included 54 gay men with asymptomatic HIV disease who were referred from sources across the Washington, D.C. area. Participants completed a set of questionnaires assessing background information and degree of self-enhancement, psychological health, and physical well-being. Each participant also released specific medical data from the office of their primary-care physician and enlisted a friend to provide information concerning the participant's personality.; Using both correlations and regression, results indicated that HIV positive gay men high in self-enhancement experienced less psychological distress and greater physical health than HIV positive gay men who were lower in self-enhancement. Interestingly, self-enhancers were also more likely to seek medical care than those lower in self-enhancement. In another component of the research, individuals high in self-enhancement were not rated negatively by observers as has often been the case in previous studies.; In general, the findings of the study show support for the benefits of self-enhancement in situations of adversity and lend credence to the positive illusions approach. The study is particularly strong in its use of multiple (and objective) methods to investigate the relationship between self-enhancement and outcome variables. In addition, it is the first study of its kind to assess objectively the relationship of self-enhancement to physical health outside of a laboratory setting. Overall, the findings of the study are encouraging with regard to the value of positive illusions for emotional and physical well-being. |
