Optimism and Resilience in People Living with HIV Undergoing Antiretroviral Therapy

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the influence of optimism on resilience among people living with HIV (PLHIV) undergoing antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in Malang City. A quantitative approach with a correlational design was employed, involving 384 participants selected via purposive sampling; the majority were male (93%), aged 25–29 years (58.6%), and had been diagnosed for 1-3 years (46.6%). Data were collected using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and the Life Orientation Test-Revised, both adapted into Indonesian. Reliability testing revealed a Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 0.955 for the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and 0.638 for the Life Orientation Test-Revised. Data analysis was conducted using simple linear regression. The results demonstrated that optimism had a positive and significant effect on resilience (B = 0.830; β = 0.240; p < 0.001), accounting for 5.8% of the variance (R² = 0.058). This low contribution reflects that most respondents were in the early stages of diagnosis and exhibited moderate optimism (65.4%), suggesting that optimism had not yet been fully internalized as a capacity for resilience. These findings reinforce the role of optimism as a predictor of resilience in the clinical population of PLHIV and provide a basis for developing psychological interventions focused on strengthening optimism—integrated into ARV treatment protocols from an early stage.