Coping with death anxiety: help-seeking and social support among gay men with various HIV diagnoses

Abstract

Unlabelled OBJECTIVE, DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: We examined sources of help-seeking related to worries or concerns about death and dying and the effects of social support on death anxiety in a longitudinal sample of gay men (n = 52). Results Friends and primary sexual partners were the most frequent sources sought in dealing with death concerns for all groups of respondents (HIV-negative, HIV-positive asymptomatic, and HIV-positive symptomatic). Men experiencing HIV symptoms were more likely than HIV-negative and asymptomatic men to use formal sources of support (medical, psychological). Although HIV-positive symptomatic men did not differ from HIV-negative men in terms of help-seeking from family sources, they were significantly more likely to seek the help of family members than HIV-positive asymptomatic men. All three HIV groups showed significantly different mean levels of death anxiety, with HIV-negative men reporting the lowest level and HIV-positive symptomatic men the highest. Among HIV-negative men, only mental health sources of support (psychologists and clergy) were significantly related to death anxiety, measured 1 year later (beta = -0.35). These sources of support were also associated with death anxiety among HIV-positive asymptomatic men, but in the opposite direction (beta = 0.26). Contrary to expectations, men experiencing HIV symptoms benefited most from family support (beta = -0.31), although peer (beta = -0.19) and medical (beta = -0.28) support sources wer…