Can promoting romantic relationship quality help gay and bisexual men better face HIV stigma?

Abstract

Advancements in antiretroviral treatment and a greater access to medication have contributed to an increased life expectancy for people who live with HIV/AIDS. As a result, new psychosocial goals in the treatment of HIV, such as improving the quality of life and levels of well-being of those who are infected, have become increasingly relevant. Since men who have sex with men, particularly those who identify as gay and bisexual, continue to be a group of primary concern within the HIV-affected population, new interventions to help them reach the aforementioned goals must be developed. Considering HIV stigma represents a paramount psychosocial threat for individual’s psychological and physical well-being, the authors embrace a resilience-oriented perspective and propose a relational approach to helping gay and bisexual men living with HIV/AIDS better face social stigma. Through an integrative literature review that discusses scholarly works published in the past 15 years on the topics of HIV stigma, relationship quality, and interventions with couples dealing with chronic illness, the authors suggest several couple-oriented interventions as promising strategies to help gay and bisexual men living with HIV/AIDS cope with the social stigma. Future directions in research and plausible components for interventions with these HIV-affected male couples are also discussed.