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December 21, 2009

Symptoms of Psychological Distress: A Comparison of Rural and Urban Individuals Enrolled in HIV-Related Mental Health Care

"Rural participants had significantly higher mean scores on the hostility dimension of the BSI [Brief Symptom Inventory], F(1, 93)=8.77, p=0.004, than their urban counterparts. Furthermore, the rural participants had a greater proportion of individuals who had a T-score ≥63, a level indicative of a need for further psychological evaluation, for generalized anxiety, hostility, and psychoticism. The results indicated that rural individuals presented with higher levels of symptoms of psychological distress than their urban counterparts. These differences may be reflective of situational circumstances in rural areas where access to care, social isolation, and perceived stigma may delay screening for, and treatment of, psychological distress."

Read more in AIDS Patient Care and STDs, December 21, 2009.

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