The Perceived Effect of HIV/AIDS on Other Identities

Authors

Lisa M. Baumgartner, Northern Illinois UniversityFollow
Eric Niemi, Northern Illinois UniversityFollow

Abstract

The onset of a chronic disease influences other roles or identities. For example, an HIV or AIDS diagnosis can affect a person’s work identity (Bedell, 1997). In this article, we explored how living with HIV/AIDS shapes other identities. Thirty - six individuals living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) participated in semi - structured interviews. Participants’ work, sexuality / intimacy, spirituality, advocate, self - esteem, addict/recovering addict and parent identities changed after being diagnosed with HIV or AIDS. In general, respondents’ advocate and recovering addict identities emerged and gained salience after being diagnosed with HIV or AIDS. Further research on how HIV/AIDS affects identities and their salience is warranted especially for lower income individuals with a history of chemical dependency.

Keywords

HIV/AIDS, Identities, Roles, Identity Theory, Basic Qualitative Study

Publication Date

2-25-2013

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2013.1553

Recommended APA Citation

Baumgartner, L. M., & Niemi, E. (2013). The Perceived Effect of HIV/AIDS on Other Identities. The Qualitative Report, 18(8), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2013.1553