Effect of hardiness on CD4+ count among injection drug users

Aim: The purpose of the present research work was to examine the relationship among hardiness and immune response (cluster of differentiation 4 [CD4+] cell count) of injection drug users (IDUs) in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh state, India. Method: Total of 160 male human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive IDUs, enrolled in anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centre of Bilaspur were taken for study. To assess hardiness of the participants, Psychological Hardiness Scale (PHS-SA) was used. Result: The hierarchical multiple regression analysis model as controlling for socio-demographic factors, i.e. age, education, and locale was employed to analyse the obtained data. Results revealed overall contribution of hardiness variance predicted 39.8% for criterion variable CD4+ count; whereas the contribution of hardiness components, i.e. commitment, control, and challenge predicted 20.7%, 9.8%, and 9.3% respectively. All these findings showed significant positive association among criterion variable CD4+ count. Conclusion: Hardiness (personality trait) shows a vital role for enhancing the immunity level (CD4+ count) of HIV infected IDUs.