Nature and consequences of stressful life events in homosexual HIV-positive men: a review.

A great deal of research has been conducted into the stressful experiences that befall HIV-infected individuals. In this review we have focused on the work that has been conducted with HIV-positive homosexual males and have examined issues concerning the measurement, nature and consequences of stressful life events. It is apparent that, in consort with most other life events research, the measurement of events in this patient group is affected by methodological difficulties. Such difficulties may have, in particular, led to the observation by some investigators that HIV-positive homosexual men experience greater numbers of such events than their HIV-negative counterparts. It is also evident that, while some of these events are typical of those faced by individuals with other life threatening conditions, others are peculiar to this patient group. Research into the consequences of these events for emotional and behavioural functioning indicate that the effects are far-reaching. Similarly, data on the consequences of stressful events for immune function suggest that they may play a role in the progression of the disease, although these data are equivocal.