ABSTRACT
Young women with HIV and histories of physical and/or sexual abuse in childhood may be vulnerable to difficulties with disclosure to sexual partners. Abuse in childhood is highly prevalent in HIV-positive women, and has been associated with poorer communication, low assertiveness, low self worth, and increased risk for sexual and other risk behaviors that increase the risk of secondary transmission of HIV. HIV disclosure may be an important link between abuse and sexual risk behaviors. Qualitative interviews with 40 HIV-positive young women with childhood physical and/or sexual abuse were conducted; some women had also experienced adult victimization. Results suggest that HIV-positive women with abuse histories use a host of strategies to deal with disclosure of HIV status, including delaying disclosure, assessing hypothetical responses of partners, and determining appropriate stages in a relationship to disclose. Stigma was an important theme related to disclosure. We discuss how these disclosure processes impact sexual behavior and relationships and discuss intervention opportunities based on our findings.
Subject(s)
Child Abuse, Sexual/psychology , HIV Infections/psychology , Social Stigma , Truth Disclosure , Adolescent , Adult , Condoms/statistics & numerical data , Female , HIV Infections/diagnosis , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Qualitative Research , Risk-Taking , Sexual Behavior/psychology , Sexual Partners , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young AdultABSTRACT
Quantitative thin-layer chromatography was used to study the hydroxo-, cyano- and dicyanocobalamin transformation equilibria. A new stereoisomer of cyanocobalamin was shown to be formed from dicyanocobalamin on the chromatographic plate. The formation, stability and UV spectrum of this compound (isocyanocobalamin) was studied.
