STRAITS-TROSTER, KRISTY ANN; PHD

                         UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO AND SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY, 1993

  PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL (0622); HEALTH SCIENCES, PATHOLOGY (0571)
 

                         In this prospective study, loneliness, social support, and life adversity were investigated as cofactors in
                         depression and change in HIV disease-related immune parameters. HIV infected men (N = 128)
                         participating in the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center (HNRC) cohort study were assessed at
                         baseline and six-month followup. In order to explore the relationship between loneliness chronicity and
                         social support, mean levels of seven types of social support at baseline were compared between groups
                         of nonlonely, chronically lonely, and transiently lonely men. Nonlonely men reported feeling more
                         satisfied with the effects of the emotional support that they provided to others, compared to transiently or
                         chronically lonely men, suggesting that feeling efficacious within one's social network was inversely
                         related to loneliness. Only transiently lonely men reported having a partner at baseline less frequently
                         than expected by chance. Chronically lonely men who reported having a partner at baseline were less
                         satisfied with the emotional support received from their partner. Thus although not having a partner was
                         related to temporary feelings of loneliness, being in an emotionally unsatisfying relationship was related
                         to a stable feeling of loneliness over time. Chronicity of loneliness contributed an additional 4% of the
                         variance in severity of depressive symptoms at followup beyond the 24% of the variance explained by
                         the covariates, HIV disease stage and baseline level of depression. No other predictor variables entered
                         the regression equation, including level of HIV-independent life adversity, emotional support received,
                         the interaction between adversity and emotional support (stress-buffering effect), and level of emotional
                         and informational support provided to others. When the same predictor variables were used to predict
                         change in absolute number of CD4+ cells, and Beta$/sb2$ microglobulin level, none of the covariates or
                         psychosocial variables entered the equations. Results suggest that these psychosocial variables were
                         not related to change in the immune markers over a brief six-month period, but a trenchant state of
                         loneliness may be related to subsequent depressive symptoms. Future intervention research efforts to
                         improve quality of life may benefit from including more varied conceptualizations of social support, such
                         as perceived efficacy of support given to others.

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