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May 8, 2006 -- Telling someone that you have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can be daunting. But a new study shows that most HIV-positive men who have sex with men don't regret others knowing their HIV status.
The study, published in AIDS Education and Prevention, comes from researchers including Julianne Serovich, PhD, a marriage and family therapy professor at The Ohio State University.
Serovich and colleagues studied 76 HIV-positive men. Some men described themselves as being gay. The rest reported having sex with other men.
The men were 21-61 years old (average age: 38). They had been diagnosed as HIV-positive between a month and 16 years before joining the study (average time: nearly seven years).
Most were white, had at least some college education, were employed, and had contracted HIV through "unsafe sexual practices," the study states. The men were mainly recruited from a university's AIDS clinical trials unit.
Social Networks
The researchers extensively interviewed the men every year from 1998-2000. They also completed questionnaires every six months during the study.
Topics included the men's social networks, which could include friends, family, and co-workers, among others.
"Participants were asked with whom they would discuss personal issues, receive advice, borrow money, invite to socialize, garner positive feedback, request physical assistance, and experience negative interactions (i.e., argue or fight)," the researchers write.
Participants also noted their sexual contacts from the past six months and provided details about their social networks, such as how long and how satisfying each relationship had been.
Participants had an average of 22 people in their social networks. The largest social network had 67 members; the smallest included seven people.
Disclosure, Regret
At the study's end, participants were asked whether or not their HIV status was known to each person in their network, how that information had been shared, and if they regretted that person having that information.
Overall, 80% of the social network members knew that participants were HIV positive. Most of those people -- 70% -- got that information directly from the participants.
Of 1,397 network members who knew that participants were HIV positive, there were 58 regret cases (4.2%), the study shows.
"Regret was remarkably low," the researchers write, regardless of how social network members had learned of participants' HIV status.
Most men -- 63% -- reported no regret. Three-quarters regretted less than 7% of the people who knew of their HIV status.
Regret's Results
Regret was more common when immediate family, co-workers, or casual sex partners knew participants had HIV. The family findings "should be viewed in context," the researchers write. "Out of 318 family members who knew, only 22 were associated with an experience of regret."
Participants may have carefully chosen which people to tell that they had HIV. They may also have decided that the benefits of disclosure outweighed the risks, note Serovich and colleagues.
The researchers call for further studies that include women and minorities.
Meanwhile, they write that "when faced with patients who are fearful of disclosing to friends and family, it is encouraging to know that the majority of those who have disclosed do not regret doing so."
SOURCES: Serovich, J. AIDS Education and Prevention, April 2006; vol 18: pp 132-138. News release, The Ohio State University.