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November 2012, Vol 102, No. 11 | American Journal of Public Health Galletly et al. | Peer Reviewed | Research and Practice | 2135
RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
we hypothesized that participants with knowl- protect anonymity. The questionnaire required sexually abstinent during the past year or
edge of the law would perceive greater respon- 30 to 45 minutes to complete. had informed all of their sexual partners prior
sibility for preventing HIV infection and to engaging in sexual intercourse with them to
would be less willing to engage in risk behaviors Measures have been in compliance for the previous
with an HIV-negative partner than would those When possible, we used validated scales year.
who were unaware of the law. in the study instrument. We developed law- Stigma. We assessed HIV-related stigma,
related scales through consultation with experts defined as the internalization of negative char-
METHODS and focus group interviews and then refined acter traits associated with being a PLWH,20
them after pilot testing. through a series of 18 first-person statements
New Jersey’s HIV exposure law requires Demographic characteristics and awareness. PLWH might make about themselves (e.g., “I
persons who know that they have HIV to Demographic items included age, gender, race deserve a lot of credit for how well I have
disclose their positive serostatus and receive and ethnicity, marital status, year of HIV di- coped with HIV”; adapted from Westbrook
the informed consent of sexual partners prior agnosis, and education. Participants were also and Bauman21; a = 0.81). A second 20-item
to engaging in “sexual penetration.” Sexual asked whether they lived in New Jersey and section assessed respondents’ perceptions
penetration is defined broadly to include vaginal, if so, for how long. We assessed whether partic- of the general public’s attitudes toward PLWH
anal, and oral sexual contact as well as the ipants were aware that New Jersey had an HIV (e.g., “Some people think you should be em-
“insertion of the hand, finger or object into the exposure law via a single item: “To the best of barrassed about having HIV”; adapted from
anus or vagina.”19 your knowledge, does New Jersey have a law that Westbrook and Bauman21). Likert-type re-
requires HIV-positive persons to tell their sex sponse options on a 4-point scale ranged from
Data Collection partners that they have HIV?” Response op- strongly disagree to strongly agree (a = 0.82).
Data were collected from samples of HIV- tions were yes, no, and not sure. We merged Status disclosure. We measured comfort
positive and HIV-negative participants. We the latter 2 categories for analyses. with HIV-positive serostatus disclosure with
have reported on the responses of HIV-positive Criminalization. Participants were asked to a 12-item section assessing participants’ com-
participants here. indicate which, if any, of 5 sexual circumstances fort with telling others about, or having others
Eligibility criteria and recruitment. Individuals should be criminalized. The first 3 items know, their HIV-positive serostatus (e.g., “Most
who met the following criteria were eligible to addressed sexual activities that PLWH engaged of the people I work with know I have HIV”).
complete the study survey for PLWH: (1) in without disclosure to their seronegative Response options ranged from strongly dis-
they reported that they had HIV, (2) they had partner. The fourth and fifth items involved agree to strongly agree (a = 0.88).
lived in New Jersey for at least 1 year, (3) they PLWH lying to an at-risk sexual partner about Risk behavior. We assessed willingness
were aged 18 years or older, and (4) they could their HIV status and PLWH trying to infect to engage in risk behavior with 8 questions
complete a self-administered survey written a sexual partner. Responses were yes or no. (e.g., “Would you be willing to have condom-
in English. Participants were recruited between We constructed a support for criminalization protected vaginal or anal intercourse with an
March 22 and October 6, 2010, through flyers, scale by summing participants’ responses to HIV-negative partner if your partner did not
print ads, and word of mouth by networks of the 5 items (Cronbach’s a = 0.73). know you have HIV?”). Response options
community-based organizations in each of Prevention. Participants were asked to allo- were yes or no (a = 0.81).
New Jersey’s 9 health sectors. The project cate responsibility for HIV prevention with the
coordinator developed recruitment plans for item, “Who is responsible for making sure Statistical Analyses
each sector in conjunction with experts in each that an HIV-negative person does not get HIV A series of univariate analyses comparing
region. The number of persons recruited in through sex?” The 5 response options ranged participants who were or were not aware that
each region was proportional to the number from “the HIV-positive person has full respon- New Jersey had an HIV exposure law deter-
of PLWH in the region. sibility” to “the HIV-negative person has full mined whether awareness of the law was asso-
Survey administration. Participants com- responsibility.” ciated with hypothesized behaviors and atti-
pleted anonymous, self-report, pen-and-paper Compliance. Participants were asked to in- tudes. Additional univariate analyses compared
questionnaires during group data collection dicate the number of persons they had vaginal, participants who were or were not in com-
sessions. To ensure data reliability, the sessions anal, or oral sexual intercourse with in the pliance with the law. We assessed the statis-
began with an overview of sample question previous 12 months, the number of these tical significance of intergroup differences
types, response options, and definitions of key partners who knew that the participant had with Pearson v2 for categorical data and the
words used in the survey. Participants individ- HIV, the number of these partners whom the Mann---Whitney U test for numerical variables.
ually completed their surveys in rooms with participant personally informed, and the number Multiple logistic regressions analyzed
tables amply spaced to provide privacy for whom the participant personally informed whether significant associations between aware-
multiple participants to complete surveys at the prior to having vaginal, anal, or oral sexual ness of the law and scores on attitudinal scales
same time. When participants finished, they intercourse with the partner. We considered persisted after adjustment for covariates. We
deposited their surveys in a ballot-type box to participants who reported that they had been also used multiple logistic regression to assess the
2136 | Research and Practice | Peer Reviewed | Galletly et al. American Journal of Public Health | November 2012, Vol 102, No. 11
RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
November 2012, Vol 102, No. 11 | American Journal of Public Health Galletly et al. | Peer Reviewed | Research and Practice | 2137
RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
P < .001), female gender (v2(df = 1) = 7.671; this. Respondents who were aware of the law Attitudes and Inadvertent Effects
P = .006), self-identification as heterosexual were more likely than those who were not Ninety percent of participants believed that
(v2(df = 1) = 5.570; P = .02), low educational aware to report having been sexually active PLWH should bear half or more than half
attainment (v2(df = 1) = 16.628; P = .005), and (rather than sexually abstinent) in the previous of the responsibility for ensuring that HIV is
involvement in marriage or a long-term re- year (v2(df = 1) = 4.53; P = .03). We also found not transmitted when serodiscordant partners
lationship (v2(df = 1) = 16.524; P < .001). The no significant difference in compliance with engage in vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse,
3 scale scores associated with compliance the law in the past year between sexually active and one third (34%) believed that PLWH have
were reluctance to engage in risk behavior participants who were aware of the law and full responsibility for ensuring that HIV-negative
(z = ---3.06; P = .002), high degree of comfort those who were not (v2(df = 1) = 0.05; P = 0.82). sexual partners do not contract HIV. We
with disclosure (z = ---3.65, P < .001), and To further explore potential effects of the found no association between awareness of
support for criminalization of nondisclosed law, we compared aware and unaware partic- the law and perceived responsibility for HIV
exposure to HIV (z = –6.35; P < .001). In ipants on several other sexual behavior vari- prevention (Table 2).
regression analyses, 2 covariates remained ables. Among sexually active participants, The majority of participants (85%) reported
significant: support for criminalization of non- awareness of the law was not associated with that they would not be willing to engage in
disclosed exposure to HIV (odds ratio [OR] = having personally informed all sexual part- unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse with
1.53; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.24, ners about their positive serostatus at some an HIV-negative partner who was not in-
1.88) and comfort with disclosure (OR = point in the sexual relationship (whether formed that they had HIV. However, we
0.50; 95% CI = 0.30, 0.83). Awareness of the partner was informed before the first found no association between awareness of
New Jersey’s HIV exposure law was not sexual experience or after) or with participants the law and willingness to engage in unpro-
associated with compliance. reporting that all of their sexual partners knew tected sexual intercourse with an uninformed
that the participant had HIV, whether the partner.
Effectiveness of the Law participant informed the partners (v2(df = 1) = To examine potential negative effects of New
The most direct tests of the effectiveness 0.533; P = 0.47) or believed they were in- Jersey’s HIV exposure law on PLWH, we com-
of the law were whether, in the previous year, formed by another source (v2(df = 1) = 0.872; pared the responses of participants who were
participants who knew about the law were more P = 0.35). Awareness of the law was not asso- and were not aware of the law on scales
likely than unaware participants (1) to have ciated with having informed a greater pro- assessing comfort with seropositive status
been sexually abstinent or (2) to have dis- portion of partners (z = –0.906; P = .37), with disclosure, perceived societal hostility toward
closed their status to all of their sexual partners having fewer sexual partners in the previous PLWH, and HIV-related stigma (Table 2).
prior to engaging in vaginal, anal, or oral in- year (z = –0.534; P = .59), or with having Contrary to our hypotheses, participants
tercourse with those partners for the first time used a condom with the most recent sexual who were unaware of the law were less
(Table 2). The first test revealed no evidence of partner (v2(df = 1) = 1.153; P = 0.28). comfortable with seropositive status disclosure
TABLE 2—Correlates of Survey Participants’ Awareness of New Jersey’s HIV Exposure Law: March–October, 2010
Variable Aware,a No. (%) or Mean 6SD Unaware,b No. (%) or Mean 6SD Cross-Group Comparison
Sexually abstinent for the past y 72 (44) 91 (56) v2(df = 1) = 4.53; P = .03
In compliance with the law c
195 (83) 189 (84) v2(df = 1) = 0.035; P = .85
Sexually active and in compliance with the law 123 (76) 98 (73) v2(df = 1) = 0.054; P = .82
Perceived responsibility for HIV preventiond v2(df = 1) = 1.08; P = .87
More for PLWH 108 (45) 110 (47)
Equal 111 (46) 96 (41)
More for HIV-negative persons 23 (10) 26 (11)
HIV-related stigmae 1.86 60.38 2.02 60.42 z = –3.68; P < .001
Societal hostilitye 2.67 60.42 2.77 60.40 z = –2.06; P = .04
Comfort with disclosuree 2.43 60.60 2.70 60.58 z = –4.79; P < .001
Note. PLWH = persons living with HIV. Totals may not add up to 100% because of rounding.
a
The sample size was n = 244 (51%).
b
The sample size was n = 235 (49%).
c
Defined as reporting having been sexually abstinent for the past year or having disclosed positive serostatus to all sexual partners in the past year.
d
Responses on a 5-point scale, with 1, “the HIV-positive person has full responsibility,” to 5, “the HIV-negative person has full responsibility.”
e
Responses on a 4-point scale, with 1, strongly disagree, to 4, strongly agree.
2138 | Research and Practice | Peer Reviewed | Galletly et al. American Journal of Public Health | November 2012, Vol 102, No. 11
RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
(z = ---4.79; P < .001), internalized more HIV- support for criminalization and reporting reduced by the variability of criminal HIV
related stigma (z = ---3.68; P < .001), and per- being in compliance with the law is likely an exposure laws from state to state.
ceived more societal hostility toward PLWH example of normative compliance: people Additional research on the impact of HIV
(z = –2.06; P = .04) than did those who were tend to comply with laws that are consistent exposure laws is needed. HIV exposure laws
aware of the law. with their beliefs.22 The association between differ greatly from state to state, their penalties
We used multiple logistic regression to an- comfort with seropositive status disclosure vary widely, and the frequency with which they
alyze associations between each of these scale and compliance may be more telling. This are applied varies as well.2,4 Each of these
measures and awareness of the law, with ad- result suggests that intervening to increase factors may influence how PLWH respond to
justment for age and year of HIV diagnosis, comfort with seropositive status disclosure the laws. Research conducted in states with
which were themselves significantly related to may be a better way to achieve the desired different laws could be illuminating. Further
awareness of the law. The associations between behaviors (disclosure or abstinence) than is research on the impact of criminal HIV expo-
being unaware of the law and HIV-related punitive legislation. sure laws on other groups, such as persons at
stigma (OR = 0.404; 95% CI = 0.242, 0.675) Contrary to our hypotheses about potential increased risk for HIV infection, HIV testing
and discomfort with disclosure (OR = 0.506; inadvertent negative effects of the law, persons counselors, and public health workers serving
95% CI = 0.353, 0.726) persisted after adjust- who were unaware of the law were less com- persons living with and at risk for HIV, is also
ment for age and year of diagnosis. We found fortable with disclosure, internalized more needed. j
no significant association between being un- stigma, and perceived more hostility toward
aware of the law and perceived hostility after PLWH. Although the association between About the Authors
adjustment for age and diagnosis year (OR = awareness and perceived hostility became The authors are with Center for AIDS Intervention Re-
search, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine,
0.660; 95% CI = 0.398, 1.094). nonsignificant after adjustment for age and Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
diagnosis year, the significant relationship Correspondence should be sent to Carol L. Galletly, JD,
DISCUSSION between being unaware of the law and stigma PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin, Center for AIDS
Intervention Research, 2071 N Summit Ave, Milwaukee,
and discomfort with disclosure persisted. WI 53202 (e-mail: cgalletl@mcw.edu). Reprints can be
Although the possible impact of HIV expo- Further research is needed to explore factors ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the “Reprints”
sure laws has provoked considerable discus- that might account for these unexpected link.
This article was accepted December 27, 2011.
sion, we have little direct information about associations.
even the most basic questions concerning these Our findings suggest that awareness that Contributors
laws, such as whether PLWH living in states New Jersey has an HIV exposure law had little C. L. Galletly conducted initial data analyses and wrote
with HIV exposure laws are aware of the laws, if any effect on the disclosure behavior of PLWH. the article. L. R. Glasman and S. D. Pinkerton helped
analyze data and revise the article. W. DiFranceisco
and whether, if they are aware, this aware- An effect of the law on prevention behaviors reviewed and provided substantive comments on data
ness increases the likelihood that they will such as engaging in safer sex was also not analyses and the article.
disclose their seropositive status to all pro- supported. Participants with knowledge of the
spective sexual partners or abstain from sexual law did not report having fewer sexual part- Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson
intercourse.18 We explored these unanswered ners or engaging in safer sex with their most Foundation’s Public Health Law Research Program and
questions in a statewide convenience sample of recent sexual partner more often than those the National Institute of Mental Health (center grant P30-
MH52776).
PLWH in New Jersey, a state with an HIV who were unaware of the law. Participants who
We thank our colleagues at Hyacinth AIDS Founda-
exposure law. were aware of the law also did not perceive tion for making this project possible.
Just over half of the participants were aware greater responsibility for HIV prevention and Note. The opinions expressed in this article are those
of the author and do not necessarily represent the views
that New Jersey has an HIV exposure law. The were not less willing to engage in risk behav-
of the funding agencies.
majority of participants (whether aware or iors with an HIV-negative partner than did
unaware) had been in compliance with the law those who were unaware of the law. For our Human Participant Protection
for the previous year. Either they had been respondents, New Jersey’s HIV exposure law This study was approved by the Medical College of
Wisconsin’s institutional review board.
sexually abstinent or they reported disclosing did not appear to be an effective structural-
their HIV status to all of their sexual partners level HIV prevention intervention. References
prior to engaging in vaginal, anal, or oral Our study had several limitations. Data were 1. Ending and Defending Against HIV Criminalization:
intercourse. Awareness that New Jersey has derived from self-report and were not (and in State and Federal Laws and Prosecutions. New York, NY:
Center for HIV Law and Policy; 2010. Positive Justice
an HIV exposure law was not associated with many cases could not be) verified externally, Project; vol 1.
compliance. However, compliance with the a single item assessed awareness of the law, and 2. Galletly CL, Pinkerton SD. Toward rational criminal
law—that is, disclosing to all prospective sexual law-related scales had not previously been fully HIV exposure laws. J Law Med Ethics. 2004;32(2):327---
partners or abstaining from sexual intercourse— validated. These limitations may reduce the 337.
was significantly associated with support for validity of the findings. The use of a conve- 3. Galletly CL, Pinkerton SD. Conflicting messages:
how criminal HIV disclosure laws undermine public
criminalization and comfort with seropositive nience rather than a random sample reduced health efforts to control the spread of HIV. AIDS Behav.
status disclosure. The association between generalizability of results, which was further 2006;10(5):451---461.
November 2012, Vol 102, No. 11 | American Journal of Public Health Galletly et al. | Peer Reviewed | Research and Practice | 2139
RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
2140 | Research and Practice | Peer Reviewed | Galletly et al. American Journal of Public Health | November 2012, Vol 102, No. 11
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