Objective: HIV-positive men are at risk for mental health problems. There is a lack of mental health services targeting this group in China. The present study evaluated the efficacy of an online positive psychology intervention of Three Good Things exercise (TGT) conducted through electronic social networking (TGT-SN), compared to a positive psychology intervention that involves TGT only (TGT-only), and a control group in promoting mental health among HIV-positive men who have sex with men.
Methods: A 3-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted among 404 HIV-positive men who have sex with men in China. Participants were randomly assigned to the TGT-SN (n=129), TGT-only (n=139), and control group (n=136). Participants of the TGT-SN group were divided into five social network groups and were asked to post brief messages on three goods things that they experienced and felt grateful to the group on a daily basis for a month. Participants in TGT-only were asked to write down their three goods things daily on an individual basis. The control group received information about mental health promotion once a week for a month. Evaluations were conducted at baseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after the intervention.
Results: Results from the generalized estimation equation (GEE) showed that participants of the TGT-SN group showed significantly lower anxiety symptoms and negative affect over time compared with those of the control group. No significant effect was found for the TGT-only group.
Conclusion: The positive psychology intervention that combines TGT exercise with electronic social networking was found effective in reducing anxiety and negative affect among HIV-positive men.