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Gender, Drug Use, and Perceived Social Support Among HIV Positive Patients

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Abstract

We investigated the relationships among gender, drug use, and perceived social support in 176 HIV positive patients recruited with their informal caregivers in HIV clinics. Perceived caregiver support, emotional support, tangible support, and conflict were assessed. Current drug use was defined as heroin and/or cocaine use within 6 months prior to baseline. Gender was not significantly associated with any of the four outcomes. Current drug users reported significantly higher conflict in social relationships than nonusers, but was not significantly associated with the other three outcomes. However, significant heroin/cocaine use by gender interactions were observed; specifically, the negative associations between current drug use and perceived caregiver and emotional support were stronger among females than males. We concluded that recent heroin/cocaine use may be associated with dissatisfaction in perceived social support from most sources, with the strongest relationships amongst drug using females.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Internal Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital/Brown Medical School, Providence, RI, USA

    Gabriella Rothman, Bradley J. Anderson & Michael D. Stein

  2. Division General Internal Medicine – Research, Rhode Island Hospital, 111 Plain Street, Providence, RI, 02903, USA

    Gabriella Rothman

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  1. Gabriella Rothman
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  2. Bradley J. Anderson
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  3. Michael D. Stein
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Correspondence to Gabriella Rothman.

Appendix 1 Items and Scoring Protocol for Perceived Emotional Support from Caregiver Index

Appendix 1 Items and Scoring Protocol for Perceived Emotional Support from Caregiver Index

Items were re-scaled to establish a common metric ranging from 0 to 20, with high scores representing high perceived support from the caregiver. The index score was calculated as the mean of the 6 items and has a possible range of 0 to 20. Internal consistency reliability for the 6-item index was 0.83.

Items

How much does ______ make you feel loved and cared for?a

How much is he/she willing to listen when you need to talk about your worries or problems?a

How often do you share your thoughts and feelings with _______?a

How comfortable do you feel confiding in ________?a

How comfortable do you feel discussing your HIV or its treatment with him/her?a

How satisfied are you with your relationship with ______?b

  1. a Scored 0, “not at all,” 5, “a little,” 10, “some,” 15 “quite a bit,” or 20, “a great deal”
  2. b Scored 0, “extremely unsatisfied,” 4 “moderately unsatisfied,” 8 “slightly unsatisfied,” 12 “slightly satisfied,” 16 “moderately satisfied, and 20 “extremely satisfied”

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Rothman, G., Anderson, B.J. & Stein, M.D. Gender, Drug Use, and Perceived Social Support Among HIV Positive Patients. AIDS Behav 12, 695–704 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-007-9258-z

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