Table 3. Comparisons of internal stigma experienced in the past 12 months among PLHIV with lower and higher levels of mental disorders.
| Internal stigma | Total score of GHQ-12 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | ≤ 3 | ≥ 4 | ||
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | OR (95% CI) | |
| I feel ashamed | ||||
| No | 543 (54.1) | 381 (61.1) | 160 (42.4) | Ref |
| Yes | 461 (45.9) | 243 (38.9) | 217 (57.6) | 2.1 (1.6–2.8) |
| I feel guilty | ||||
| No | 471 (46.9) | 326 (52.2) | 143 (37.9) | Ref |
| Yes | 533 (53.1) | 298 (47.8) | 234 (62.1) | 1.8 (1.4–2.3) |
| I blame myself | ||||
| No | 539 (53.7) | 370 (59.3) | 168 (44.6) | Ref |
| Yes | 465 (46.3) | 254 (40.7) | 209 (55.4) | 1.8 (1.4–2.3) |
| I blame others | ||||
| No | 834 (83.2) | 531 (85.2) | 300 (79.6) | Ref |
| Yes | 169 (16.8) | 92 (14.8) | 77 (20.4) | 1.5 (1.1–2.1) |
| I have low self-esteem | ||||
| No | 779 (77.7) | 520 (83.5) | 256 (67.9) | Ref |
| Yes | 224 (22.3) | 103 (16.5) | 121 (32.1) | 2.4 (1.8–3.2) |
| I feel I should be punished | ||||
| No | 691 (68.8) | 464 (74.4) | 225 (59.7) | Ref |
| Yes | 313 (31.1) | 160 (25.6) | 152 (40.3) | 2.0 (1.5–2.6) |
| I feel suicidal | ||||
| No | 955 (95.1) | 610 (97.8) | 342 (90.7) | Ref |
| Yes | 49 (4.9) | 14 (2.2) | 35 (9.3) | 4.5 (2.4–8.4) |
| I chose not to attend social gathering | ||||
| No | 903 (89.9) | 566 (90.7) | 335 (88.6) | Ref |
| Yes | 102 (10.1) | 58 (9.3) | 43 (11.4) | 1.3 (0.8–1.9) |
| I isolated myself from my family and/or friends | ||||
| No | 936 (93.1) | 599 (96.0) | 334 (88.4) | Ref |
| Yes | 69 (6.9) | 25 (4.0) | 44 (11.6) | 3.2 (1.9–5.3) |
| I made the decision to stop working | ||||
| No | 956 (95.1) | 607 (97.3) | 347 (91.8) | Ref |
| Yes | 49 (4.9) | 17 (2.7) | 31 (8.2) | 3.2 (1.7–5.8) |
| I decided not to apply for a job or a promotion | ||||
| No | 944 (93.9) | 588 (94.2) | 354 (93.7) | Ref |
| Yes | 61 (6.1) | 36 (5.8) | 24 (6.3) | 1.1 (0.7–1.9) |
| I withdrew from education/training opportunity | ||||
| No | 959 (95.6) | 593 (95.2) | 364 (96.6) | Ref |
| Yes | 44 (4.4) | 30 (4.8) | 13 (3.4) | 1.4 (0.7–2.8) |
| I decided not to get married | ||||
| No | 573 (57.1) | 339 (54.5) | 232 (61.4) | Ref |
| Yes | 430 (42.9) | 283 (45.5) | 146 (38.6) | 1.3 (1.1–1.7) |
| I decided not to have sex | ||||
| No | 648 (64.5) | 403 (64.6) | 243 (64.3) | Ref |
| Yes | 357 (35.5) | 221 (35.4) | 135 (35.7) | 1.0 (0.8–1.3) |
| I decided not to have (more) children | ||||
| No | 406 (40.4) | 263 (42.1) | 142 (37.6) | Ref |
| Yes | 599 (59.6) | 361 (57.9) | 236 (62.4) | 1.2 (0.9–1.6) |
| I avoided going to a local clinic and/or hospital | ||||
| No | 977 (97.2) | 608 (97.4) | 366 (96.8) | Ref |
| Yes | 28 (2.8) | 16 (2.6) | 12 (3.2) | 1.2 (0.6–2.7) |
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; GHQ, general health questionnaire; OR, odds ratio; PLHIV, people living with HIV.
* Chi-square test or Fisher’s Exact test was used as appropriate for the comparisons.