2002/12/01 by Kathryn Greene, Sandra L. Faulkner · 1 citation
Health Professions · Medicine · Psychology · #Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health #Attachment and Relationship Dynamics #HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
paper · doi:10.1080/10510970209388595
openalex publication_date 2002/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Ten HIV‐positive African American adolescent females were interviewed regarding disclosure of their HIV infection in various relationships. Communication Boundary Management (Petronio, 1991) provided a framework for understanding disclosure patterns in these relationships. Participants described expected (n = 113) and actual (n = 94) responses to disclosing an HIV diagnosis. The findings indicate that expected response and the target of disclosure affect adolescents’ disclosure decisions. Participants expected targets of disclosure to respond as follows: experience negative emotional reactions, provide support, treat them differently, tell others, or were unsure of a target's response. On the basis of these findings, five themes were identified related to actual responses to disclosure of HIV infection: different treatment, negative emotional reaction, received support, target told others, and treated no differently. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.