Neuropsychological Profile, Coping, Socio-demographic and Clinical Correlates of Individual with HIV/AIDS

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a disease caused by a virus named Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and is characterized by immunosuppression, which leads to a spectrum of clinical manifestation that include cognitive impairments such as attention, memory, verbal fluency and visuospatial construction. Sample of the study consists of 300 individuals who were further divided into ‘case group’ and ‘control group’. The case group consists of 200 subjects who were HIV/AIDS (100 males and 100 females) and the control group who were HIV negative (50 males and 50 females) by using purposing sampling technique. The result of the study reveals that Case groups have shown greater cognitive deficits relatively to control group. Deficits were in terms of set shifting, visuo constructive ability and visual memory etc. Males performed better on focusing and sustaining attention and planning whereas females performed better on executive function, visuo-construction and visual memory, working memory and verbal learning and memory. No significant gender difference is observed in coping mechanism, depression and anxiety. The results of the present study demonstrate that case groups are having much more cognitive deficits in comparison to control group.