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Social Support, Stress and Social Network Characteristics Among HIV-Positive Latino and African American Women and Men Who have Sex with Men

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Abstract

Social support and stress have been poorly characterized for persons with HIV, particularly for racial/ethnic minorities. To address this gap, data on general and HIV-specific support and stress and social network characteristics were collected for 399 African American and Latino women and men who have sex with men (MSM) in Los Angeles County. African American (mean = 41; SD = 17) and Latina (mean = 40; SD = 19) women reported the highest general support. Stress was also highest for Latina women (mean = 18; SD = 11) and higher compared to Latino and African American MSM. African American and Latina women reported receiving most of their social support and stress from family members, while African American and Latino MSM received their support and stress from friends and providers. Finally, Latina and African American women disclosed their HIV status to more network members and received more HIV-specific support compared to MSM. Interventions are needed to help Latino and African American MSM enhance their support networks to manage a stigmatized illness.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all of the clinic staff, study participants and the project interviewers, Alex Carruth and Christian Chavez. This research was supported by California HIV/AIDS Research Program Grant CH05-LAC-617 and CH05-DREW-616. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Martin Lee for his statistical support for this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. HIV Epidemiology Program, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, 600 S. Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 1920, Los Angeles, CA, 90005, USA

    Amy Rock Wohl & Wendy Garland

  2. Institute for Community Health Research, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Frank H. Galvan

  3. Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Hector F. Myers

  4. Biomedical Research Center, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Sheba George

  5. Division of HIV Medicine, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Mallory Witt

  6. Rand Schrader HIV Clinic, Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Joseph Cadden

  7. Maternal Child and Adolescent Clinic, Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Eva Operskalski

  8. OASIS Clinic, Los Angeles County MLK-MACC, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Wilbert Jordan

  9. Daniel V. Lara Clinic, AltaMed Health Services Corporation, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Felix Carpio

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  1. Amy Rock Wohl
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  2. Frank H. Galvan
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  4. Wendy Garland
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  5. Sheba George
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Correspondence to Amy Rock Wohl.

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Wohl, A.R., Galvan, F.H., Myers, H.F. et al. Social Support, Stress and Social Network Characteristics Among HIV-Positive Latino and African American Women and Men Who have Sex with Men. AIDS Behav 14, 1149–1158 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-010-9666-3

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