Social Support, Stress and Social Network Characteristics Among HIV-Positive Latino and African American Women and Men Who have Sex with Men

Social support and stress have been poorly characterized for persons with HIV, particularly for racial/ethnic minorities. To address this gap, data on general and HIV-specific support and stress and social network characteristics were collected for 399 African American and Latino women and men who h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIDS and behavior 2010-10, Vol.14 (5), p.1149-1158
Main Authors: Wohl, Amy Rock, Galvan, Frank H., Myers, Hector F., Garland, Wendy, George, Sheba, Witt, Mallory, Cadden, Joseph, Operskalski, Eva, Jordan, Wilbert, Carpio, Felix
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
African Americans
African Americans - psychology
African Americans - statistics & numerical data
Cross-Sectional Studies
Ethnic Groups
Female
Females
Gender
Health Psychology
Hispanic Americans
Hispanic Americans - psychology
Hispanic Americans - statistics & numerical data
HIV
HIV Infections - ethnology
HIV Infections - prevention & control
HIV Infections - psychology
Homosexuality
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Infectious Diseases
Latin American Cultural Groups
Los Angeles
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Middle Aged
Original Paper
Public Health
Risk-Taking
Sexual Partners
Sexuality - psychology
Sexually transmitted diseases
Social networks
Social Support
STD
Stress
Stress, Psychological - psychology
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Summary:Social support and stress have been poorly characterized for persons with HIV, particularly for racial/ethnic minorities. To address this gap, data on general and HIV-specific support and stress and social network characteristics were collected for 399 African American and Latino women and men who have sex with men (MSM) in Los Angeles County. African American (mean = 41; SD = 17) and Latina (mean = 40; SD = 19) women reported the highest general support. Stress was also highest for Latina women (mean = 18; SD = 11) and higher compared to Latino and African American MSM. African American and Latina women reported receiving most of their social support and stress from family members, while African American and Latino MSM received their support and stress from friends and providers. Finally, Latina and African American women disclosed their HIV status to more network members and received more HIV-specific support compared to MSM. Interventions are needed to help Latino and African American MSM enhance their support networks to manage a stigmatized illness.
ISSN:1090-7165
1573-3254
DOI:10.1007/s10461-010-9666-3