Fathers with HIV Disease and Disclosure to Children: Reported Experiences and Unique Characteristics

Abstract

More than 1 million persons in the United States are living with HIV disease; many are parents. HIV-positive parents' decisions about whether to disclose their HIV status to their children has been of concern to social work researchers in recent years. Studies have focused almost exclusively on mothers; however, not only do HIV-positive fathers grapple with disclosure, they may possess unique characteristics that influence their decisions. This article describes the disclosure experiences of 41 HIV-positive custodial fathers of children ages 5 to 18. Biological, psychological, and social factors are addressed in the context of current disclosure theories.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV disclosure
• fathers
• children

Notes

The author would like to thank Sarah Gilman for her assistance with data entry.

The Professional Staff Congress of The City University of New York (PSC-CUNY Award # 62789-00 31) funded this study.

*p ≤ .05.