Psychosocial aspects of Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome

Abstract

Psychosocial aspects which arise with regard to people directly or indirectly involved with AIDS: patients, relatives and professional staff, are studied. The results show that the population assisted in the Ribeirão Preto region is predominantly young, male and drug-addicted. The patients with "positive" results show reactions similar to those described by Kluber-Ross (1977) for terminal patients. The behavior observed in relatives forms a continuum which varies from the negation of the illness to the overprotection of the patient. For the professionals, perplexity is the most common reaction when they face a population which is different from that with which they are used to dealing. Finally, the data acquired indicate that the psychologist can help the professionals to deal with the reactions of the patients by integrating them into their organic and emotional aspects.