Social support, mental health needs, and HIV risk behaviors: a gender-specific, correlation study

Abstract

Background The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to threaten the health and wellbeing of millions in the United States and worldwide. Syndemic theory suggests that HIV/AIDS can cooccur with other afflictions. As close to 20% of US adults live with a mental health condition, it is critical to understand the correlation between HIV risk behaviors and mental health needs, as well as protective factors such as social support in intervening the association between mental distress and HIV risk behaviors. Furthermore, as past research has shown mixed results concerning the function of social support on HIV risks by gender, it is important to conduct a gender-specific analysis. Methods To assess the relationship between mental health needs, social support, and HIV risk behaviors, and to assess if social support can be a buffer, weakening the effect of mental health needs on HIV risk, in 2018, we analyzed representative, cross-sectional data from 2016 BRFSS collected from 33,705 individuals from four states in the United States, stratified by gender. Weighted logistic regression analyses, adjusted for age, race, marital status, education, and annual income, assessed the correlation between mental health needs, social support, and HIV risk behaviors. Furthermore, interaction analyses were performed to see if social support modifies the slope of mental health needs as a function of HIV risk behaviors. Results For both genders, the odds of participating in HIV risk behaviors increase with mental health needs and decrease with the level of social support. Furthermore, social support mitigates the association between mental health needs and HIV risk behavior involvement for males, as males receiving high level of social support have least odds of HIV risk behaviors relative to males receiving low level of social support. Notably, for females, social support does not serve as a buffer against HIV risk behaviors when their mental health needs increase. Conclusion The study contributes to the knowledge base of HIV prevention and highlights the important role of mental health and social support against HIV risk behaviors when developing gender-specific prevention strategies.

Social Support and Gender Differences as Correlates of Self-Esteem: Implications for Improving Health among Patients Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria

“…The implication of this is that an individual's support system which could be members of his/her family, close friend, colleague and so on does account for his or her self-esteem. Furthermore, Fang et al (2019), also revealed that social support was significant in their study on women's conceptions of coping with HIV scourge in daily life. One explanation for this could also be that seeking social support is one of the ways people cope with stressful situations, and this is evident in the number of women who seek social support interventions in most counseling organisations in the State.…”

Predicting mental health of prisoners by artificial neural network

“…Social support networks comprise individuals who provide support resources such as financial, instrumental, emotional, and informational support when needed [17]. The findings of various studies have shown the protective effect and moderating role of social support in the face of adverse events and coping with stress [36]. Social support creates conditions that make one feel loved, cared for, and valued when needed [17].…”

“…Hence, they are less likely than other people to be inflicted by physical, mental, and psychological disorders [38]. On the other hand, deprivation of emotional and social support can reduce one's ability to cope with stress and increases one's willingness to engage in risky behaviors such as substance abuse or a tendency to use more dangerous substances [36]. Alongside this, the results of some studies have indicated that some motivations for drug use in prison entail pain reduction, avoidance of problems, and feelings of belonging and acceptance in the social network of other drug addicts in the prison [39,40].…”

Investigating the effect of social support, social capital, and coping on the positive state of mind of Iranian older people with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

“…Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is one of the most critical health concerns globally. [ 1 2 3 ] According to reliable estimates in 2014, the population of HIV/AIDS patients in Iran in common was 28,863 people. [ 4 5 ] Due to medical and health advances, many people with AIDS have entered old age.…”

“…Therefore, it increases the risk of adverse events in their lives and chronic medical conditions. [ 2 10 ] People living with HIV are associated with many challenges such as social pressures, stigma and discrimination, depression, stress, loneliness, and early loss of the job, family, health, and physical appearance. [ 11 12 13 14 15 ] These people hide their illness because of the fear of social stigma and being rejected by family and society.…”