Probably due to stigmatization, disclosing of HIV-positive serostatus may be difficult. Disclosure of seropositive status is associated with consequences for overall health, mental health, social support, sexual risk, and medical care. Due to the potential of the disclosing of HIV-positive serostatus to cause negative consequences, the researchers led by Maria Cecilia Zea (2004) explored the rates of disclosure to different members of the social network of HIV-positive Latino gay men. Moreover, the researchers sought the factors that may have influence the rates of disclosure of HIV-positive status to the different members of the social network, specifically the mothers, fathers, close friends, and sexual partner. Their study involved 155 HIV-positive Latino gay men living in New York City and Washington, DC.
According to the researchers, the study performed would demonstrate that disclosure of HIV-positive status to the different members is greatly affected by various factors. Due to various HIV-related stigmatizations, disapproval or rejection usually occurs after disclosing the HIV-status of gay men. Moreover, the research would also demonstrate that the disclosure of HIV-positive serostatus occurs more frequently to close friends than their parents. The study performed by Zea et al. (2004) confirmed that HIV-positive gay men are more likely to confide their serostatus to their friends than their parents, even though the Latinos are known for strong family ties. As for their sexual partners, 81% with main sexual partners have disclosed their HIV-positive status. However, only 57% those who had casual sex partners disclosed their HIV status to their casual partners.
As for the factors affecting the rates of disclosure, 5 factors were studied: emotional closeness to the target, awareness of the target about the sexual orientation of the participant, anticipated reactions from the target, acculturation, and time since the HIV diagnosis. According to the researchers, all these factors were found to be influential; however, different factors remain influential depending on the target. For example, participants are more likely to disclose their HIV status to parents if their parents were aware of the participant's sexual orientation. Moreover, emotional closeness to parents and acculturation to the US were associated with higher rates of disclosure, while greater amount of time since the diagnosis was seen to be associated with higher rates of disclosure to friends. As a social worker, the study highlights the relevance of various factors, such as the roles and relationships, to the degree of difficulty of disclosing serostatus.
Reference:
Zea, Maria Cecilia et al. (2004). Disclosure of HIV-Positive Status to Latino Gay Men’s Social Networks. American Journal of Community Psychology, 33 (1/2): 107-116.
