title: Barriers to social support for persons living with HIV/AIDS.
abstract: 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 social support (availability, intimacy and disclosure) diminished acquisition of social support. The influence of barriers on the relationship between social support and health outcome (i.e. depression, t-cell count) for both friend and family models was also investigated. In general, data from HIV-positive gay men support barrier theory premises for both family and friends. Implications for helping professionals and researchers are proposed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Science, 135 Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Avenue, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA. serovich.1@osu.edu
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Serovich
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Brucker
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kimberly
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers; D005195:Family Relations; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006304:Health Status; D006716:Homosexuality; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012944:Social Support