AIDS and Social Exclusion: Personality Features or Adaptive Behaviors?

Abstract

The purpose of this survey is to detect common personality features in people infected with AIDS who have a case history of drug addiction and who live in a situation of social exclusion. The sample comprised 105 male participants from the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, divided into 4 groups: (a) 30 men with AIDS, having an intravenous drug addiction case history and who live in a condition of social exclusion; (b) 30 men with IVDA case history, also living in a situation of social exclusion; (c) 15 men in a social exclusion condition; and (d) 30 men in a condition of social adaptation. The evaluation instruments were an author-designed semi-structured interview and the Multiaxial Clinical Inventory (MCMI-II; Millon, 1987). Although some differences were found, the results indicate that there is no specific personality profile in the "social exclusion" population. People in a condition of social exclusion (AIDS, drug addicts, and poor people) may obtain similar scores in the variables studied, but there is no clear specific personality profile in the excluded population, although there may be certain situations in which the segregated groups present similar behaviors. Furthermore, these behaviors do not always correspond to personality features but are adaptive responses to a harsh and complex reality.

People at risk of social exclusion: mental health, structural-economic factors and sociocultural factors (Personas en riesgo de exclusión social: salud mental, factores económico-estructurales y socio-culturales)

“…Living in a situation of social exclusion exposes people to stressful life events which reinforce vulnerability processes and increase their psychological and social deterioration (Cleary et al, 2014). Mental health problems can arise as an adaptive response to a complex social scenario and the experience of feeling excluded (Van Bergen et al, 2014), specifically symptoms related to personality disorders (Flores et al, 2005) and the development of aggressive, unsocial behaviours (Twenge et al, 2001).…”

“…En lo que se refiere al consumo de tóxicos parece que es un importante factor de riesgo de la exclusión social. Flores et al (2005) encontraron una elevada prevalencia de trastornos de personalidad y consumo de drogas en grupos de alto riesgo de exclusión social, en comparación con un grupo de la población general. Estos resultados indican que el consumo de sustancias puede ser uno de los principales factores que lleva al inicio del proceso de exclusión social, condición que se exacerba en las personas con comorbilidad psiquiátrica, ya que eleva la posibilidad de perder la vivienda o tener una vivienda inestable (Ibabe et al, 2014).…”

“…El hecho de vivir en situación de exclusión social expone a las personas a la vivencia de acontecimientos vitales estresantes, los cuales refuerzan los procesos de vulnerabilidad incrementando el deterioro psicológico y social (Cleary et al, 2014). Como respuesta de adaptación ante un escenario social complejo y la experiencia de sentirse excluido/a podría acarrear problemas de salud mental (Van Bergen et al, 2014), específicamente la sintomatología relacionada a trastornos de personalidad (Flores et al, 2005) y el desarrollo de conductas agresivas y antisociales (Twenge et al, 2001).…”

“…Drug consumption also seems to be an important risk factor in social exclusion. Flores et al (2005) found a high prevalence of personality disorders and drug consumption in groups at a high risk of social exclusion compared to a group from the general population. These results indicate that drug consumption may be one of the main factors triggering the process of social exclusion, a condition which is exacerbated in people with psychiatric comorbidity, as it raises the possibility of losing one’s home or having unstable housing (Ibabe et al, 2014).…”