Disclosure of HIV seropositivity to sexual partners: An application of social cognitive theory

The present study used social cognitive theory to examine self-disclosure of HIV seropositivity to sexual partners in a sample of 223 HIV-positive individuals. Participants were primarily male, Caucasian, gay or bisexual, with an average age of 36 years. Eighty-two percent of the sample disclosed their serostatus to at least one sexual partner in the past 4 months; however, disclosure rates varied by gender, partner type, and number of partners. Multiple regression analyses predicting disclosure behavior on the basis of social cognitive variables revealed the significance of self-efficacy and outcome expectancies. These findings suggest the clinical importance of focusing on the enhancement of self-efficacy and positive outcome expectancies as techniques to assist clients with self-disclosure of HIV serostatus to sexual partners.