Cognitive-Based Compassion Training (CBCT) for People Living With HIV (PLHIV)

The PSS is a 10-item scale that provides a general index of perceived psychological stress as this relates to a sense that one's life is experienced as unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded. The subjects are asked to indicate how often they felt or thought a certain way and to score their responses on a scale from 0 to 4, where 0= Never and 4=Very Often. PSS is measured on a scale of 0 to 40, with higher scores reflecting greater perceived stress.

The GWB is an 18-item self-report scale designed to measure subjective psychological well-being and distress. It includes six subscales (anxiety, depression, positive well-being, self-control, vitality, general health) and also yields an overall well-being score. The response format used a 6-grade Likert scale and the range of scores will be normalized from 0 to 100. The higher the score, the better the well-being of the participant.

This ICQ is an 18-item self-report measure used to assess changes in illness appraisal. It includes three subscales that evaluate specific dimensions of illness cognitions. Each of the three scales (helplessness, acceptance and benefits) consists of 6 items that are rated according to a 4-point Likert scale to the extent of agreement (0= not at all, 1=somewhat, 2= to a large extent, 3= completely), producing a total score ranging from 0 to 72, with a higher score being indicative of more illness appraisal.

The WAS is a 32-item self-report instrument that measures core personal beliefs. Subscales tap specific core belief domains, including: benevolence of the impersonal world, benevolence of people, justice, controllability of life events, self-worth, self-controllability, and personal luck. Each of these scales consist of items that are rated according to a 6-point Likert-type scale bounded by 1 (strongly disagree) and 6 (strongly agree). The higher the score is indicative to a stronger belief.

The LRI-R is a 28-item scale that provides an index of global personal meaning. It includes two subscales: framework (assesses one's sense of having a frame of reference from which to appraise one's life and goals), and fulfillment (evaluates the degree to which one perceives that life goals are being realized). Both of these scales consist of items that are rated according to a 3-point Likert scale (1= I agree, 2= I have no opinion and 3= I disagree) and scores on both subscales range between 14 and 42, for a total range of 28 and 84. In case of the framework subscale, a higher score indicates a higher degree of positive beliefs and goals. In case of the fulfillment subscale, a higher score indicates that persons see themselves in the process of fulfilling their beliefs and goals.

The Rosenberg Self-esteem scale is a 10-item scale that provides a self-report index of self-esteem. Each item is rated according to a 4-point Likert scale with scores ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The scale ranges from 0-30, with 30 indicating the highest score possible. Total sum scores between 15 and 25 are within normal range; with scores below 15 suggest low self-esteem.

The Berger HIV Stigma Scale is a 13-item self-report measure that evaluates perceptions of HIV stigma across three subscale domains, including distancing (concerns about avoidance by others), blaming (feelings of blame from others and internal shame relative to HIV), and discrimination (concerns about inequitable treatment because of HIV). Each item is rated according to a 4-point Likert scale with scores ranging from bounded by 1 (strongly disagree) and 4 (strongly agree). Endorsement of stigmatizing views yielded a higher score.

The serum concentration of CRP will be assessed using commercial enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) kits.

Acceptance of the CBCT will be measured by positive responses on a participant satisfaction survey, developed specifically for the study, which will be conducted at the completion of the 8-week program.