A network analysis of religious coping, mental health, and HIV outcomes among Black women living with HIV in the United States.

Black women living with HIV (BWLWH) utilize religion/spirituality as a coping mechanism in the face of intersectional adversities, which may be related to various mental health and HIV-related outcomes. However, the literature is still growing, and few studies have analyzed overall measures of religiosity as well as item-level variables in relation to mental and physical outcomes among BWLWH. The current study aims to explore these relations via network analysis. Data were collected from baseline assessments among 151 BWLWH in a longitudinal cohort in the Southeastern United States. Women completed self-report measures to capture religious coping items, depressive and PTSD symptoms, and medication adherence. HIV viral load was measured from blood samples. A network analysis was conducted to view the complex relations between religious coping and health outcomes. Significant associations were found between religious coping and medication adherence at 1, 2, and 4 weeks, depression and post-traumatic stress, and depression and 1- and 2-week medication adherence. Among the religious coping items, seeking "God's love and care" was shown to be of particular importance with the highest centrality indices across most networks. These findings suggest that religious coping is salient for BWLWH, strengthening the support for interventions incorporating religiosity/spirituality.