THE ROLE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT IN HIV-INFECTION

A study was carried out in a group of 91 HIV positive gay men to inves tigate the relationship between social support, measures of affect and health; the changing nature of support over time; and the causal dire ction of this relationship. Overall levels of support for this group w ere found to be moderately high and consistent over 6 months and were associated with greater psychological well-being. Individuals in recei pt of quantitatively different levels of support were found to differ on measures of depression, stress, coping efficacy and self-esteem, wh ile individuals in receipt of deficient levels of support were found t o be more depressed. However, initial support levels were found to be the most powerful predictors of subsequent support levels. The implica tions of these findings are discussed.