PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF GAY MEN WITH AIDS - CONTRIBUTION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ILLNESS-RELATED NETWORK INTERACTIONS TO DEPRESSIVE MOOD

While the positive functions of social network interactions in amelior ating the effects of life stress are widely documented and acknowledge d, a growing body of research investigations has demonstrated that soc ial relationships can concurrently be a source of stress and that acti ons intended to be supportive may instead be experienced as psychologi cally disturbing. Data from a study of the social support experiences of gay men diagnosed with AIDS were examined to determine the contribu tion to the men's depressive mood of positive and negative network int eractions (n = 83). Although the results are consistent with the socia l support literature regarding the beneficial effect of positive netwo rk interactions for seriously-ill individuals, the findings also indic ate that negative illness-related network interactions are associated with decreases in depressive mood, as indicated by scores on the Cente r for Epidemiological Studies of Depression Scale (CES-D). The finding s also demonstrate the additive effects of positive and negative netwo rk interactions and clearly point out the value of investigating the c omplexity and multiple functions of social interactions.