Not a Cure but a Comfort: The Role of Spiritual Coping in Responding to Anxiety among Women Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Objectives: The objective of the study is to analyse the relationship between demographic characteristics, spiritual coping, and anxiety levels in women living with human immunodeficiency virus (WLHIV), based on the spiritual coping theory of Bell, Theiler, and Rajendran. Materials and Methods: This study employs an analytical cross-sectional approach, involving 120 WLHIV aged 20–49 years at the Government Hospital in Indonesia. The instruments used are the Spiritual Religious Coping Scale and the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, which have been modified. Data analysis employed the Spearman Rank test with ordinal logistic regression. Results: Most respondents had high spiritual coping (55.0%) and no anxiety (58.3%). There was a significant negative association between age and anxiety (ρ = −0.346; p < 0.001) as well as between length of diagnosis and anxiety (ρ = −0.356; p < 0.001). A meaningful positive relationship was found between spiritual coping and anxiety (ρ = 0.364; p < 0.001). Ordinal regression showed that WLHIV ages 20–25 years (B = 1.553; p = 0.041) and spiritual coping of the moderate category predicted higher anxiety (B = 1.520; p = 0.013). Conclusion: Spiritual coping is an important strategy in responding to anxiety, especially in the early stages of diagnosis. These results support the role of spiritual appraisal as an intermediary in the process of meaning that influences coping responses. Culturally appropriate, spiritually based interventions that can support WLHIV’s emotional stability need to be developed.