People Living with HIV (PLHIV) often experience complex emotional burdens that contribute to psychological distress, yet limited studies have explored how emotional and cognitive factors influence trauma-related outcomes. The study investigated whether the affective experience and satisfaction with life served as mediators in the relationship of shame and guilt to Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS) among PLHIV. The data were analyzed using Spearman’s rho to identify significant relationships among the variables, and a parallel mediation analysis with 5,000 bootstrapping samples was conducted to evaluate mediating effects. Findings revealed that shame and guilt were significantly correlated with PTSS. It further revealed that affective experience acted as a mediator in the relationship of shame and guilt to PTSS. In contrast, satisfaction with life did not serve as a significant mediator. Overall, the findings emphasized the crucial role of emotional experiences in shaping trauma-related outcomes and underscored the importance of incorporating strategies that enhance emotional resilience into psychosocial and mental health interventions. The study provided important insights for enhancing HIV care frameworks and contributed to the advancement of culturally informed mental health policies and interventions to effectively support the well-being of PLHIV.
Carullo et al. (Thu,) studied this question.