Psychological Well-Being Among Individuals Aging With HIV: The Value of Social Relationships

Abstract

Utilizing a heterogenous sample of adults diagnosed with HIV infection, the current study sought to explore associations among age, various dimensions of social support, and psychological and functional well-being. Cross-sectional data capturing subjective and instrumental support, social interaction, behavioral health service utilization, and psychological well-being (ie, positive affect and depressive symptomatology), and physical functioning, were collected from 109 men and women living with HIV. To explore age group differences, participants were stratified by age (<54 vs. 55+ years). Despite endorsing greater medical comorbidity, older adults reported significantly lower depressive symptomatology and greater positive affect and were less likely to report seeing a behavioral health specialist than their younger counterparts. No age group differences emerged for instrumental support or amount of social interaction. However, older adults reported higher subjective support, which in turn was associated with lower depressive symptomatology, greater positive affect, and nonutilization of behavioral health services. More attention should be paid to the social environment of individuals diagnosed with HIV as the quality of social relationships may be particularly important for successful psychological adaptation to HIV.