- Title
- Meaning in life and sense of coherence in HIV-positive adults
- Creator
- Nolte, Coenraad B
- Date Issued
- 2010
- Date
- 2010
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MA
- Identifier
- vital:9857
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1562
- Description
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection is highly prevalent in South Africa and inevitably leads to an acute stage of the disease referred to as Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Individual variations in the rate of HIV-disease progression are, amongst others, a function of the psychological reactions to an HIV-positive diagnosis and the prevalence of psychosocial stressors. This study was conducted in the context of the salutogenic paradigm and the existential psychological theory of Viktor Frankl. Sense of coherence is a key salutogenic concept and previous studies have suggested a positive correlation between the sense of coherence and the wellbeing of HIV-positive individuals. The objectives of this research were to explore and describe the search for meaning in life, the presence of meaning in life, the sense of coherence and the potential relationships among these concepts in HIV-positive adults. The research sample consisted of 62 participants recruited from an HIV wellness clinic in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area. Key findings included the following: Levels of search for meaning in life and presence of meaning in life were not found to be elevated or suppressed in the research sample. No significant relationship was found between the levels of search for meaning in life and presence of meaning in life. The level of sense of coherence of the sample was found to be lower than the level of sense of coherence obtained in previous studies from healthy, mixed populations in South Africa. A statistically significant relationship was found between the levels of presence of meaning in life and the sense of coherence. In conclusion it was proposed that presence of meaning in life is a fortifier of the sense of coherence.
- Format
- 137 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
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