Reciprocity and Depression in Aids Caregiving

A community-based sample of informal AIDS caregivers was surveyed between 1990 and 1992 about the degree to which they perceive reciprocity with the recipient of their care. Equivalent exchanges between caregivers and care recipients are unlikely, a general fact that may have been particularly true in the case of AIDS at the beginning of the 1990s. Yet perceived reciprocity is remarkably high in this sample across all relationship types. Multivariate regression analyses suggest that the highest measured levels of perceived reciprocity are most likely among gay men caring for a lover. In turn, they show reciprocity to be negatively associated with caregiver depression and positively associated with the duration of caregiving. However, this heightened sense of reciprocity among gay men caring for a lover apparently does not insulate them from depressed mood. Rather, the data suggest that these men suffer greater depression than individuals caring for a legal spouse or friend, net an array of other predictive factors.