The Endangered Self Identity and Social Risk

This book focuses on how the discovery of an HIV positive status affects the individual's sense of identity, on the experience of living with HIV and its effects on the individual's social relationships

To date, the majority of HIV/AIDS research has concentrated on education and prevention for those with a seronegative status, while studies of HIV positive individuals have been concerned with their potential to infect others. The Endangered Self however, focuses on how the discovery of an HIV positive status affects the individual's sense of identity, on the experience of living with HIV and its effects on the individual's social relationships. In this comparative study of the UK and US, Green and Sobo explore identity change and the stigma attached to an HIV positive status within the context of the sociology of risk. Chapters discuss issues such as:*identity, social risk and AIDS*stigma*living and coping with HIV*the danger of disclosure*reported reactions in health care settings and sexual settings*risk and reality*seropositivity.The Endangered Self will be of interest to all those infected with HIV and to their families, partners, friends and caregivers who are affected by it. It will be essential reading for health-care professionals and those studying medical anthropology, sociology and health and risk studies.

Preface Graham Hart Acknowledgements List of Tables About the Authors 1. Identity, social risk, and AIDS: what's the connection? 2. Dangerous identities: stigmas and stories 3. The landscape of risk: danger, identity and HIV 4. Settings and Methods 5. Living with HIV: coping with a new status 6. Telling 7. The danger of disclosure 8. Reported reactions in health care settings 9. Disclosure in sexual settings: identifying the issues 10. Reported reactions in sexual settings: our findings 11. Risk and Reality: the social situation 12. Seropositivity, identity, and social risk Bibliography Index

Gill Green is a Senior Lecturer at the Health and Social Services Institute, University of Essex. Elisa J. Sobo is Clinic Director and Associate Investigator, National Study of Nutrition an d Health, University of California, San Diego.