Body Image Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction in HIV/AIDS Patients

The present study attempted to elucidate the nature and extent of relationship between body satisfaction and life satisfaction of the diagnosed Human Immune Virus/Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome ((HIV/AIDS) patients and the individuals with no known chronic physical and/or mental health illnesses. Eighty participants encompassing forty diagnosed HIV/AIDS patients comprising twenty seven males (M = 35.63, SD = 4.58) and thirteen females (M = 33.69, SD = 3.57) and forty postgraduate students containing twenty eight male (M = 28.00, SD = 4.78) and twelve females (M = 24.17, SD = 5.99) took part in the present study. The body image satisfaction and life satisfaction were assessed with the help of Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (Mendelson, Mendelson, & White, 2001) and Life Satisfaction Scale (Alam & Shrivastava, 2001), respectively. The results of the study demonstrated that the participants suffering from HIV/AIDS had lower mean body image satisfaction score (M = 48.78, SD = 6.61) as compared to the normal participants (M =76.90, SD =5.12). Likewise, the life satisfaction scores of HIV/AIDS showed lesser mean score (M =38.50, SD =4.88) as compared to the normal healthy (M =44.25, SD = 3.33). The current theoretical and empirical findings related to body image satisfaction, life satisfaction and chronic physical illnesses have been used to discuss the results of the present study. The findings of the study would have noteworthy theoretical and practical implications for researchers, clinicians, government health policy makers, health professionals and administrators.