Kathryn Greene - Böcker

As the HIV epidemic enters its third decade, it remains one of the most pressing health issues of our time. Many aspects of the disease remain under-researched and inadequate attention has been given to the implications for the relationships and daily lives of those affected by HIV. Disclosing an HIV diagnosis remains a decision process fraught with difficulty and despite encouraging medical advances, an HIV diagnosis creates significant anxiety and distress about one's health, self-identity, and close relationships.This book provides an overarching view of existing research on privacy and disclosure while bringing together two significant areas: self-disclosure as a communication process and the social/relational consequences of HIV/AIDS. The unifying framework is communication privacy management and the focus of this volume is on private voluntary relational disclosure as opposed to forced or public disclosure. Utilizing numerous interviews with HIV patients and their families, the authors examine disclosure in a variety of social contexts, including relationships with intimate partners, families, friends, health workers, and coworkers. Of note are the examinations of predictors of willingness to disclose HIV infection, the message features of disclosure, and the consequences of both disclosure and non-disclosure.This volume, with its personal exercises and sources of additional information, offers an invaluable resource for individuals living with HIV and their significant others, as well as for professionals in the fields of health communication, social and health psychology, family therapy, clinical and counseling psychology, relationship research, infectious disease, and social service.

As the HIV epidemic enters its third decade, it remains one of the most pressing health issues of our time. Many aspects of the disease remain under-researched and inadequate attention has been given to the implications for the relationships and daily lives of those affected by HIV. Disclosing an HIV diagnosis remains a decision process fraught with difficulty and despite encouraging medical advances, an HIV diagnosis creates significant anxiety and distress about one's health, self-identity, and close relationships.This book provides an overarching view of existing research on privacy and disclosure while bringing together two significant areas: self-disclosure as a communication process and the social/relational consequences of HIV/AIDS. The unifying framework is communication privacy management and the focus of this volume is on private voluntary relational disclosure as opposed to forced or public disclosure. Utilizing numerous interviews with HIV patients and their families, the authors examine disclosure in a variety of social contexts, including relationships with intimate partners, families, friends, health workers, and coworkers. Of note are the examinations of predictors of willingness to disclose HIV infection, the message features of disclosure, and the consequences of both disclosure and non-disclosure.This volume, with its personal exercises and sources of additional information, offers an invaluable resource for individuals living with HIV and their significant others, as well as for professionals in the fields of health communication, social and health psychology, family therapy, clinical and counseling psychology, relationship research, infectious disease, and social service.

Close relationships are a vital part of people's daily lives; thus family members, friends, and romantic partners play an integral role in people's health and well-being. Understanding the ways in which close relationships both shape and reflect people's health and wellness is an important area of inquiry. Showcasing studies from various disciplines that are on the cutting-edge of research exploring the interdependence between health and relationships, this collection highlights several relationship processes that are instrumental in the maintenance of health and the management of illness, including interpersonal influence, information management, uncertainty, social support, and communication. Although the existing health literature is rich with knowledge about individual and ecological factors that are influential in promoting certain health behaviors, the relationship scholars featured in this volume have much to contribute in terms of documenting the interpersonal dynamics that are involved in experiences of health and illness.