Do Older Adults with HIV Have Distinctive Personal Networks? Stigma, Network Activation, and the Role of Disclosure in South Africa

This study considers whether the personal networks of older South African people living with HIV (PLHIV) differ from those without HIV. Using recent survey data (N = 5059), results suggest that PLHIV reported more core network members than their peers without HIV (IRR 1.08; 95% CI 1.03, 1.13), but were equally likely to receive emotional support from network members (1.21; 95% CI 0.93, 1.58). PLHIV who had yet to disclose their serostatus were more likely than others to have friends and other non-kin in their core network (B 0.08; 95% CI 0.02, 0.13) and to maintain networks of non-overlapping members (OR 2.11; 95% CI 1.33, 3.34). Even as HIV remains highly stigmatized in South Africa, PLHIV tend to maintain relatively large and supportive networks. Still, a sizeable proportion of PLHIV do not disclose their illness—these individuals disproportionately inhabit networks marked by non-kin and by high bridging potential.