Abstract
Unlike the prevalence rate of AIDS diagnoses for men, the prevalence rate for women has not reached a plateau. Moreover, the rate of AIDS diagnosis for African-American women is 17 times higher than for White women. In the context of considerable stress, these women must grapple with the question of to whom they can disclose their HIV diagnosis with minimal risk of negative consequences. This study examines patterns of disclosure to significant others, predictors of disclosure, and the relationship between disclosure and psychological functioning. Analyses indicated that women disclosed at varying rates to six different categories of others. Disclosure to mothers (66%) was most common, followed by disclosure to partners (56%). Rates of disclosure to children (28%) and fathers (25%) were lowest. Women's illness status predicted disclosure to father and friends. Only disclosure to partner was significantly related to women's psychological functioning: Fewer symptoms of depression were evident in women who had disclosed their HIV status to their partners compared to those who had not disclosed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Armistead, L., and Forehand, R. (1995). For whom the bell tolls: Parenting decisions and challenges faced by women who are HIV seropositive. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 2, 239-250.
Armistead, L., Klein, K., Forehand, R., and Wierson, M. (1997). Disclosure of parental HIV infection to children in the families of men with hemophilia: Description, outcomes, and the role of family processes. Journal of Family Psychology, 11, 49-61.
Armistead, L., Summers, P., Forehand, R., Simon, P., Morse, E., and Clark, L. (in press). Understanding of HIV/AIDS among children of HIV-infected mothers: Implications for prevention, disclosure, and bereavement. Children's Health Care.
Bor, R., Miller, R., and Goldman, E. (1993). HIV/AIDS and the family: A review of research in the first decade. Journal of Family Therapy, 15, 187-204.
Centers for Disease Control. (1992). 1993 revised classification system for HIV infection and expanded surveillance case definition for AIDS among adolescents and adults. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 41, 15.
Centers for Disease Control. (1997). HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 9. Atlanta, GA: Department of Health and Human Services.
Derogatis, L. R., Rickles, K., and Rock, A. F. (1976). The SCL-90 and the MMPI: A step in the validation of a new self-report scale. British Journal of Psychiatry, 128, 280-289.
Derogatis, L. R., and Spencer, P. M. (1982). The Brief Symptom Inventory administration, scoring, and procedures manual. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Ellerbrock, T., Bush, T., Chamberland, M., and Oxtoby, M. (1991). Epidemiology of women with AIDS in the United States, 1981 through 1990. Journal of the American Medical Association, 265, 2971-2975.
Family Health Project Research Group (1998). The Family Health Project: A multidisciplinary longitudinal investiation of children whose mothers are HIV-infected. Clinical Psychology Review, 18, 839-856.
Faithful, J. (1997). HIV-positive and AIDS-infected women: Challenges and difficulties of mothering. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 67, 144-151.
Forehand, R., and Kotchick, B. A. (1996). Cultural diversity: A wake-up call for parent training. Behavior Therapy, 27, 187-206.
Garcia Coll, C. T., Meyer, E. C., and Brillon, L. (1995). Ethnic and minority parenting. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting: Biology and ecology of parenting (pp. 189-210). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Hamilton, M. (1960). A rating scale for depression. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 23, 56-62.
Hays, R. B., McKusick, L., Pollack, L., Hilliard, R., Hoff, C., and Coates, T. J. (1993). Disclosing HIV seroposivity to significant others. AIDS, 7, 425-431.
Hays, R. B., Turner, H. A., and Coates, T. J. (1992). Social support, HIV symptoms, and depression among gay men. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 463-469.
Hedlund, J. L., and Vieweg, B. W. (1979). The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression: A comprehensive review. Journal of Operational Psychiatry, 10, 149-165.
Klein, K., Armistead, L., Devine, D., Kotchick, B., Forehand, R., Morse, E., Morse, P., Stock, M., and Clark, L. (in press). Social support in African American families coping with maternal HIV: A two-part longitudinal study examining mothers' and children's psychosocial adjustment. Behavior Therapy.
Kremer, E., Atkinson, J. H., and Ignelzi, R. J. (1981). Measurement of pain: Patient preference does not confound pain measurement. Pain, 10, 241-248.
Linn, J. G., Poku, K. A., Cain, V. A., Holzapfel, K. M., and Crawford, D. F. (1995). Psychosocial outcomes of HIV illness in male and female African American clients. Social Work in Health Care, 21, 43-60.
Mansergh, G., Marks, G., and Simoni, J. M. (1995). Self-disclosure of HIV infection among men who vary in time since seropositive diagnosis and symptomatic status. AIDS, 9, 639-644.
Marks, G., Bundek, N. I., Richardson, J. L., Ruiz, M. S., Maldonado, M., and Mason, H. R. C. (1992). Self-disclosure of HIV infection: Preliminary results from a sample of Hispanic men. Health Psychology, 11, 300-306.
Mason, H. R. C., Marks, G., Simoni, J. M., Ruiz, M. S., and Richardson, J. L. (1995). Culturally sanctioned secrets? Latino men's nondisclosure of HIV infection to family, friends, and lovers. Health Psychology, 14, 6-12.
Moneyham, L., Seals, B., Demi, A., Sowell, R., Cohen, L., and Guillory, J. (1996). Experiences of disclosure in women infected with HIV. Health Care for Women, 17, 209-221.
Phillips, P. (1997). No plateau for HIV/AIDS epidemic in US women. Journal of the American Medical Association, 277, 1747-1749.
Simoni, J. M., Mason, H. R. C., Marks, G., Ruiz, M. S., Reed, D., and Richardson, J. L. (1995). Women's self-disclosure of HIV infection: Rates, reasons, and reactions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 474-478.
Wahler, H. J. (1969). The Physical Symptoms Inventory: Measuring levels of somatic complaining behavior. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 24, 207-211.
Wahler, H. J. (1973). Wahler Physical Symptoms Inventory manual. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
Wilson, M. N., Tolson, T. F. G., Hinton, I. D., and Kiernan, M. (1990). Flexibility and sharing of childcare duties in Black families. Sex Roles, 22, 409-425.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Correspondence should be directed to Lisa Armistead, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, University Plaza, Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Armistead, L., Morse, E., Forehand, R. et al. African-American Women and Self-Disclosure of HIV Infection: Rates, Predictors, and Relationship to Depressive Symptomatology. AIDS Behav 3, 195–204 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025400410099
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025400410099