Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2001, pp. 11-20
© 2001 Society of Pediatric Psychology
Disclosing HIV Status: Are Mothers Telling Their Children?
1 Georgia State University, 2 University of Georgia, 3 Tulane University, 4 Louisiana State University Medical Center
All correspondence should be sent to Lisa Armistead, Department of Psychology, P.O. Box 5010, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303. E-mail: psylxa{at}panther.gsu.edu .
Objective: Mothers living with HIV face a complex set of child-rearing decisions, often within the context of many competing stressors. One difficult decision for HIV-infected mothers is whether to disclose their HIV status to their children. The purpose of this study is to provide information to HIV-affected families and the professionals working with them as they approach disclosure-related decisions.
Methods: Eighty-seven HIV-infected African American mothers and one of their children who was not HIV-infected were separately interviewed on two occasions. Mothers reported whether they disclosed their HIV status to the child and provided their assessment of the child's functioning. Children also completed an assessment of their functioning.
Results: Results revealed that less than one-third of mothers disclosed their HIV status to their children. Disclosure was associated with mother's income level and perceived severity of physical symptoms. In addition, children disclosed to were more often older and female. Contrary to expectation, disclosure was not related to child functioning.
Conclusions: Professionals should note the low rate of disclosure among these families. In the absence of conclusive data regarding impact on child functioning, professionals must remain aware of the complexity of disclosure-related decisions when working with HIV-affected families, particularly in terms of the family and cultural milieu within which families operate.
Key words: HIV disclosure; African American women; maternal disclosure.
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