Social support as a stress buffer among human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive urban mothers

The article presents three examples of how mothers with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease cope with stressors in their lives. These examples were generated through the clinical perspective and interpretation of one clinician-researcher. Knowledge of specific women over time indicates that HIV disease is often experienced within the context of poverty. To survive with hope, the individual woman faced with an HIV diagnosis must find ways to overcome the stigma of the diagnosis and adapt using individual coping responses. Social support and social networks are viewed as resources for women who struggle to survive with the diagnosis of HIV seropositivity.