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The psychosocial impact of being diagnosed with genital human papillomavirus
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to obtain information regarding how people are affected by a diagnosis of genital warts/HPV. The psychosocial affects studied included emotional health, social and sexual relationships, feeling's about one's sexuality, safer sex practices and sexual behavior. 147 students (96 females and 51 males) completed the Symptom Check List 90-R (SCL-90-R) and a sexual history and demographic questionnaire. Participants were divided into three groups: students diagnosed with genital warts/HPV (HPV group), students diagnosed with a curable STD (curable group), and students with no diagnosed STD (No STD group). Thirteen students who were diagnosed with genital warts/HPV agreed to be interviewed, and each expressed recurring concerns about fear of transmission, rejection, frustration with the medical establishment and telling future partners. The qualitative findings from this study found that subjects who were older (more than 20-years-old), had more than 2 to 4 sexual partners in their lifetimes, had their first sexual intercourse at an early age (13 to 15-years-old) and only practiced safer sex "sometimes" were more likely to have been diagnosed with either genital warts/HPV or a curable STD than the No STD group. Subjects with genital warts/HPV were more likely to change their sexual behavior after a diagnosis by practicing safer sex "consistently". Some subjects reported that they had stopped being sexually active as a result of their diagnosis with genital warts/HPV. Analysis of variance was used to compare the sample means of the SCL-90-R sub-scales for the three sample groups. The most significant findings were demonstrated when subjects were evaluated by gender. The sub-scales of the curable and genital warts/HPV groups for women were both elevated. This may indicate that "curability" is not a factor affecting the psychological symptomatology of these groups. Based on these findings, the diagnosis of genital warts/HPV and a curable STD requires certain psychological assistance and patient education. People at high risk (those with multiple partners, early age at first intercourse, a history of STDs and alcohol abuse) need to be informed about genital warts/HPV, its prevalence, its virulent nature, and its medical complications. The psychosocial impact of any STD, curable or incurable, is of great importance in treating the person "systemically" to fully address all aspects of the disease.
Subject Area
Health education|Psychology|Welfare
Recommended Citation
Edelman, Debra, "The psychosocial impact of being diagnosed with genital human papillomavirus" (1994). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9434479.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9434479