ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a sample of male caregivers who are caring for partners with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. Lazarus and Folkman used a cognitive theory of stress and coping to understand how people manage the vicissitudes of ordinary daily life. The heart of the model embodies a description of the ways in which people use information to evaluate the status of events, actions, and goals that are judged to be personally meaningful. The chapter discusses the narrative data from five men that were collected in bimonthly interviews during the period of caregiving prior to their partner's death. The interviews were conducted at our project offices or the participant's home. On average, each caregiver narrated eight stressful events. The ability to focus on the positive implications of personal goals, even while in the midst of experiencing tremendous trauma, appears to be a significant indicator of psychological well-being, especially when positive states of mind are considered.
