title: Psychological distress among gay men supporting a lover or partner with AIDS: a pilot study.
abstract: To date, there has been little research to examine how much psychological distress is caused to people providing care and support to a lover or partner with AIDS. This study aimed to determine the level of psychological distress experienced by a sample of gay men providing care and support to a lover or partner with AIDS. It was conducted as a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. A control group was not enlisted, thus the study was descriptive in nature. The experimental hypothesis proposed that providing care and support would result in a high level of psychological distress. Thirty-eight gay men, some of whom themselves were infected with HIV, who were the primary carer of a lover or partner with an AIDS diagnosis were assessed using a self-report questionnaire. The 28-item General Health Questionnaire was used as a measure of global psychological distress. In addition, Martin's (1988) Traumatic Stress Response Scale was used as a measure of psychological distress arising specifically from AIDS. The sample reported high levels of global and AIDS-specific psychological distress. The levels of distress reported were of such a degree to indicate that the majority of the sample were probably suffering from significant psychiatric problems. The results strongly suggest that providing care and support to a lover or partner with AIDS may have an adverse affect on the carer's own psychological health: however, because of the design of the study it is impossible to state this conclusively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Irving
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bor
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Catalan
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006304:Health Status; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological