The social support networks of gay men with Aids

Bibliographic Data

ID11045274
AuthorsRobert B Hays (University of California, San Francisco, corresponding author), Sarah Chauncey (George Washington University), Linda A Tobey (George Washington University)
Year1990
Volume18
Issue4
Pages374-385
Publication date1990-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Community Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-4392 • E-ISSN: 1520-6629
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/1520-6629(199010)18:4<374::aid-jcop2290180410>3.0.co;2-c
OpenAlexW2168544495
LanguageEN
Citations received41
References cited22

Twenty-five gay men with AIDS were interviewed about their social support networks and completed a measure of psychological well-being. The networks were primarily composed of gay, male friends and usually contained one other person with AIDS (PWA). Network characteristics most highly correlated with psychological well-being included the degree to which the PWA felt he reciprocated support to network members, amount of emotional and informational support received, number of close relationships, and percentage of friends—versus relatives —in his network. Friends and fellow PWAs tended to be the greatest sources of fun and relaxation. Fellow PWAs offered the greatest opportunity for reciprocity and were highly rated as sources of informational support. In contrast, professional helpers provided high informational support but little opportunity to reciprocate. All categories of network members were rated as providing fairly high levels of emotional support. The findings demonstrate the value of social network assessment in identifying PWAs at risk for psychological problems.

Emotional support · Reciprocity (cultural anthropology) · Social media · Social network (sociolinguistics) · Social support · Value (mathematics) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Computer Science · Family Caregiving in Mental Illness · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Psychology · Social Psychology