Barriers to social support for persons living with HIV/AIDS

The purpose of this study was to test a barrier theory of perceived social support to HIV-positive gay men. The proposed model was tested for friends and family separately in order to investigate the uniqueness each provided. In both models, it was hypothesized that the presence of barriers to socia l support (availability, intimacy and disclosure) diminished acquisition of social support. The influence of barriers on the relationship between soci al support and health outcome (i.e. depression, t-cell count) for both frie nd and family models was also investigated. In general, data from HIV-posit ive gay men support barrier theory premises for both family and friends. Im plications for helping professionals and researchers are proposed.