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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to compare the ways in which perceived and actual social support affect the mental health of gay men, straight or bisexual men, and women living with HIV/AIDS. Participants included 125 women and 232 men with an HIV-positive or AIDS diagnosis involved in three larger investigations of HIV, disclosure and mental health. Results suggest each sub-group experienced perceived social support as significantly predictive of better mental health while the effect of actual social support was minimal.
Acknowledgements
This work was funded by grants awarded to the second author from the National Institute of Health (R29 MH56292; R01 MH62293) and College of Human Ecology. We thank the men and women who participated in these studies.