This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Hawk, S. T. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Disclosures of maternal HIV infection to seronegative children: A literature review

University of Amsterdam, s.t.hawk{at}uva.nl

Mothers living with HIV/AIDS face the challenge of disclosing their illness to their uninfected children. This literature review devotes specific attention to rates and predictors of maternal disclosure, justifications for (non)disclosure, how mothers plan and execute disclosures, and postdisclosure adjustment in families. Although no research has conclusively shown that maternal disclosures are detrimental to children's wellbeing, findings on adjustment may differ depending on child age and whether mothers or children are the informants in research. Suggestions for further studies include the implications of mothers' specific communication strategies; age-related differences in, and adjustment to, disclosures; differentiating between short- and long-term functioning; and the further development of structured interventions to aid mothers and their families in both the pre- and postdisclosure period.

Key Words: coping with parental illness • disclosure • family communication • maternal HIV/AIDS

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 24, No. 5, 657-673 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0265407507081453


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?