Mark J. Maluga completes dissertation in the School of Psychology

Spiritual Schema Shift, HIV, and Gay Men -- Mark J. Maluga

Abstract:
This study examined a spiritual schema and a shift that occurs when gay men experience the psychological trauma of being diagnosed HIV positive. Early maladaptive schemas (EMS) affect a spiritual schema, and schema polarity, worldview, purpose in life, and locus of control are discussed as components of a spiritual schema. The EMS of Abandonment/Instability, Mistrust/Abuse, Emotional Deprivation, and Defectiveness/Shame were targeted in this study. The Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ), an eight-item locus of control measure based on Rotter (1966), and the Purpose in Life Test (PIL) were utilized to identify a relationship between EMS related to a shift in purpose in life and locus of control in response to being diagnosed with HIV. The respondents completed the locus of control and PIL measures twice from pre-HIV and post- HIV diagnosis perspectives to identify shifts in both purpose in life and locus of control before and after HIV diagnosis. The YSQ was completed once by each respondent to explore the mediating role the four targeted EMS play in purpose in life and locus of control shifts before and after HIV diagnosis. Paired t-test analysis and multiple regression indicated no significant shift in purpose in life and locus of control before and after HIV diagnosis. Utilizing the Baron and Kenny method and the Sobel test to examine mediation, the four targeted EMS had a significant mediating relationship with purpose in life and locus of control. The results and implications related to spiritual schema and EMS mediating purpose in life and locus of control are discussed.

Key Words: Gay, HIV, Schema, Spiritual Schema, Early Maladaptive Schemas, Paranormal, Complementary Medicine.