Ways of coping mediate the relationship between self-efficacy for managing HIV and acceptance of illness among people living with HIV

Aim The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-efficacy for managing HIV and acceptance of illness and to identify the potential mediation effect of active coping and passive coping on this relationship. Design The study used a cross-sectional survey. Methods A sample of 555 people living with HIV were recruited from September-December 2018 in the HIV clinic of a tertiary general hospital in Changsha, China. Survey data were collected through face-to-face interviews that included measures of sociodemographic and HIV-related clinical characteristics, Acceptance of Illness Scale, the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire and the Self-efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease Scale. Step-by-step linear regression models combined with bootstrap testing were used to test the relationships when controlling for gender and HIV diagnosis duration. Results Self-efficacy was positively related to acceptance of illness and this relationship was partially mediated by both active coping and passive coping. Acceptance of illness increased by 0.175 for every point increase in self-efficacy indirectly through active coping, while acceptance of illness decreased by 0.034 for every point increase in self-efficacy via passive coping. Conclusion The findings highlighted the importance of self-efficacy for managing HIV and ways of coping, especially active coping, for illness acceptance. Impact The findings suggested that interventions that improve confidence in managing HIV and active coping may enhance the illness acceptance of people living with HIV.