STIGMATIZATION OF PERSONS WITH HIV DISEASE - PERCEPTIONS, MANAGEMENT,AND CONSEQUENCES OF AIDS

Drawing on a dramaturgical perspective, this article examines the meth ods by which persons living with HIV disease experience social labelin g and disapproval as a result of their medical condition. Through a fo cus on the management and coping strategies of identity constructions, the sources and forms of stigmas are explored. Two general forms of s tigma are examined: direct and indirect. By differentiation between th e explicitness of others' relating social disapproval and individuals' HIV status, the varying consequences for identity constructions are s hown. Finally, stigmatized persons' strategies for managing the identi ty-affecting consequences of stigma are discussed, with an emphasis on the positive and negative functions of stigmatization for persons wit h HIV disease.