| Acquired Immnunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a devastating illness that while the subject of intensive medical research, remains largely unexplored psychologically.;A review of the literature reveals a number of factors that distinguish AIDS from other terminal illnesses. These are: the potential for the virus and opportunistic infections to attack the brain producing cognitive impairment (AIDS Dementia Complex), the unpredictability of the illness, and the fact that usually the patient's social support is lessened by the stigma of the illness. The present study has been designed to explore the interplay between these variables and the ways in which they impact on how an individual copes with AIDS.;The sample consisted of 33 males and 15 females hospitalized with AIDS. Their level of defensive functioning was measured by the Defensive Style Questionnaire (Andrews, Pollock, & Stewart, 1989). Their cognitive functioning was measured by a neuropsychological battery composed of several subtests of the WAIS-R (Wechsler, 1981), the Neuropsychological Impairment Scale, and the Price (1989) scale. Social Support was assessed by a questionnaire developed by Lin, Dean, and Ensel (1981). Finally, the physical stage of the illness was measured by a clinical scale, number of hospitalizations, and time elapsed since diagnoses.;Correlational and multiple regression analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. The results revealed a relationship between cognitive functioning, physical illness, and defense mechanisms. However, instead of a tendency towards the use of more primitive defenses in cognitively deteriorated patients, a more general intensification or increase of the overall defenses was found as the patients were more cognitive impaired.;In addition, the results revealed that as the time since diagnoses increases the use of mature defenses also increases relative to overall defensive functioning. This is consistent with psychoanalytic theory and provides some empirical support for the theories of Kubler-Ross (1969). That is, the change in the use of mature defenses is startlingly similar to her description of the stages that terminally ill patients go through in facing their illness from the time of diagnosis to their death. |
