Tag: Poster 96

Demographic Factors Influencing HIV Disclosure Rates in India

Presenter(s): Nisha Sridhar − Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): Nagalingeswaran Kumarasamy, Ezhilarasi Chandrasekaran

Poster 96

Research Area: Public Health

Background: Disclosure of HIV seropositive status by an individual to family members can help improve quality of life and reduce transmission by promoting better access to medical services, and psychosocial support for seropositive individuals (1). Objective: We studied the disclosure rates and demographic factors influencing non-disclosure among HIV positive individuals in Southern India. Methods: We reviewed patient questionnaires from 6,458 seropositive patients between 2009 and 2017 seeking treatment at a large non-profit HIV/AIDS medical and research institution (Y.R.G. CARE) in Chennai, India. We analyzed demographic factors including age, sex, marital status, education, employment status, sexual orientation, ART status, mode of transmission, condom use, alcohol, and smoking status. Results: The overall self-reported disclosure rate of HIV status to family members was high at 98.7%. However, the disclosure to workplace remains low at 1.2%. Women, married individuals, housewives and unskilled workers showed a positive association with seropositive status disclosure. The self- reported disclosure rate for families found in this study is higher than those noted in other studies in developing nations. This may be due to the comprehensive education and counseling services provided at this clinic. This supports the importance of voluntary counseling services to promote disclosure supported by previous studies. Conclusion: Disclosure rates of HIV status to family remain high in this study when compared to other studies performed in developing nations. Seropositive status disclosure is an essential factor when developing strategies to increase access to treatment, reduce HIV-related stigma, and discourage HIV-transmission related behavior globally.

1. “HIV Status Disclosure to Sexual Partners: Rates, Barriers and Outcomes for Women.” World Health Organization, 2004.

Perceived Power and Affiliation: The Association Between Perceived Power and Liking in Dyadic Interactions

Presenter(s): Joshua Pearman

Faculty Mentor(s): Bradley Hughes & Sanjay Srivastava

Poster 96

Session: Social Sciences & Humanities

In interpersonal dynamics, perceptions of power can influence social outcomes, such as liking or respect. Although most studies focus on how power in others influences these outcomes, there is a lack of work on the influence of self-perceived power on one’s behavior and judgments. Therefore, this research examines how one’s self-perception of power predicts social outcomes during dyadic interactions, which involve two people interacting with one other. Specifically, I worked with the Personality and Social Dynamics Lab to examine the relationship between self- perceived power, experienced during the interaction, and how much the perceiver liked the interaction partner, thought the target liked them, and how much they enjoyed the interaction. These relationships were tested with actor-partner interdependence models. We collected data after 20 minute dyadic social interactions, in which participants worked together on an art gallery task to choose the best 3 paintings out of the 20 provided to display in a hypothetical museum (N = 320). Results indicated a strong relationship between perceived power and how much a participant liked their partner, as well as a strong relationship between perceived power and how much a participant thought their interaction partner liked them. There was not a significant relationship between perceived power and enjoyment of the interaction activity. While previous literature focuses on either how assigned power can influence behavior or how perceived power can be influenced by socio-structural and psychological factors, the present work seeks to examine how perceived power can predict feelings of affiliations when two people interact.