Emotional support and gender in people living with HIV: effects on psychological well-being.
Current research indicates that emotional support is strongly associated with physical and psychological adjustment in persons living with HIV/AIDS. While gender- differences in health and health behaviors of HIV positive patients are well studied, less is known about how men and women living with HIV/AIDS may differentially perceive and integrate support into their lives, and how it subsequently affects their psychological well-being. This cross-sectional study examines how emotional support received from partners and family/friends and gender explains psychological well-being (i.e., stress, depression, anxiety) in a sample of 409 partnered European HIV positive individuals. We hypothesized that gender would modify the associations between support and psychological well-being such that men would benefit more from partner support whereas women would benefit more from family/friend support. Results revealed that regardless of the source of support, men's well-being was more positively influenced by support than was women's well-being. Women's difficulties in receiving emotional support may have deleterious effects on their psychological well-being.
Gordillo
Victoria
V
Department of Psychology, University Complutense of Madrid, 28223 Madrid, Spain. gordillo@psi.ucm.es
Fekete
Erin
E
Platteau
Tom
T
Antoni
Michael H
MH
Schneiderman
Neil
N
Nöstlinger
Christiana
C
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires