ASSESSMENT OF SELF-DISCLOSURE AMONG PAIENTS WITH AIDS

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This longitudinal questionnaire study examines self-disclosure of diagnosis among three groups of male patients: (a) those with AIDS, (b) those with AIDS-Related Complex, and (c) those who test positive for HTLV-III but do not meet the criteria for an AIDS or ARC diagnosis. The study also assesses the extent to which these individuals are engaging in sexual and drug-use behaviors that put others at risk of contracting the AIDS virus. The specific aims of the project are: (1) To determine how many AIDS, ARC, and seropositive patients disclose their diagnosis to others; to identify specific others to whom they reveal (e.g., steady lover, casual sexual partners, drug partners, friends, family, medical providers); and to determine at what time points after diagnosis they reveal to a specific target. (2) To examine Fishbein and Ajzen's logical information processing model of behavior as it applies to self-disclosure of diagnosis. (3) To examine psychological, social/environmental, and physical variables as predictors of disclosure. (4) To study the consequences of disclosure (as perceived by the subjects). (5) To investigate the extent to which patients are not revealing their diagnosis to others but are continuing to engage in sexual and drug-use behaviors that put those other at risk. Subjects will be recruited in person at the AIDS Clinic of the LAC-USC Medical Center. Each participant will complete three anonymous questionnaires, one at each of three time points. The first survey will be completed within one month of diagnosis and the two follow-up surveys will be completed two and four months later. Surveys will be mailed to the home residence of each participant. The procedures of the study preclude association between subjects and their responses but allow us to link-up the three waves of data collected from each subject. Subjects' reactivity to questions on self-disclosure and behavior will also be assessed. Patients will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In one condition, the first survey will not include items on disclosure and behavior; in the other condition it will include such items. The second and third surveys will each contain items on revealing and behavior thus permitting an assessment of the extent to which measurement of behavior on the first questionnaire affected subsequent behavior.