Why tell? Serostatus disclosure and HIV stigma among HIV seropositive Asians and Pacific islander men who have sex with men in New York City

Many persons living with HIV wrestle with the dilemma of whether or not to disclose their serostatus. The benefits of being supported by a network of confidants are weighed against the risks of being rejected and ostracized by family and peers. As such, many persons living with HIV/AIDS continually struggle to fulfill competing needs to share information about their illness and to preserve privacy or maintain control over who, what, and when to disclose their serostatus (Derlega, Lovejoy, & Winstead, 1998). The timing of selective serostatus disclosure can be influenced by disease progression (Mansergh, Marks & Simoni, 1995), length of HIV diagnosis (Emlet, 2006), cultural norms (Simoni et al., 1995; Mason, Marks, Simoni, Ruiz, & Richardson, 1995), relational commitment (Perry et al., 1994), and the number of sexual partners (Marks, et al., 1992).