Psychosocial Consequences of HIV Seropositivity

Abstract

Most literature on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has focused on persons with clinical-criterion, or frank, AIDS. Given the lethality of an AIDS diagnosis, the recency of the disease, and the exponential increase in AIDS cases, it is understandable that clinical-criterion AIDS has dominated discussion and research. Relatively less attention has been directed toward those who are HIV-exposed but remain healthy, even though their numbers are substantially greater than the number of persons diagnosed with frank AIDS. This chapter will discuss HIV seropositivity, the reasons that people seek testing, and some of the psychological, behavioral, and social consequences of positive HIV test results. These include voluntary changes in sexual practices, adverse emotional consequences, possible neurological consequences of exposure, and the social consequences of HIV exposure. Chapter 6 will then discuss specific interventions that can assist persons who are adversely affected by the knowledge that they have been exposed to the virus.