Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can result in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as events related to illness act as traumatic stressors. This study tested some basic hypotheses of Sewell and Cromwell's personal construct model of PTSD in HIV+ women both with and without diagnoses of PTSD. Trauma-related constructs of HIV+ women with PTSD with HIV+ non-PTSD controls at varying stages of illness were compared. The elaboration, rankings, and valence of trauma-related constructs were examined using the Life Events Repertory Grid (LERG) procedure. Findings provided evidence that a clinical diagnosis of PTSD in women was not associated with the degree of construct elaboration. These findings may imply a qualitative difference in cognitive processing of social stressors and violent stressors.

The present research has focused on an often-neglected segment of society—the aged. A number of phenomena which appear relevant to a study of aging have been discussed and the pertinent literature reviewed. Specifically, learned helplessness, depression, internal-external locus of control, and disengagement versus activity have been examined. The present research was divided into two studies. Study Number 1 has investigated internal-external locus of control in an elderly sample and related it to indices of activity and morale. Study Number 2 has extended Seligman's (1975) theory of learned helplessness to an elderly population and investigated the phenomenon in individuals with either an internal or an external locus of control. The locus of control construct (Rotter, 1966) and the theory of learned helplessness (Seligman, 1975) appear to have immediate relevance for the treatment of aging individuals. The present study suggests that exposure to controllable reinforcement may break-up or alleviate learned helplessness in elderly individuals.