ABSTRACT
Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States know that they are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or that they are at high risk for this infection. Although some of the manifestations of HIV can be managed medically for a time, there is no cure. People who know they are infected with HIV are confronted with profound threats to their physical and psychological well-being. Gay men account for the largest number of diagnosed AIDS cases (Centers for Disease Control, 1995). These men deal not only with issues of their own health and mortality but also with interpersonal problems with families; discrimination at work, by rental agents, bankers, or other service personnel; police harassment; and physical violence from heterosexuals (Kessler et al., 1988).
