Responsibility for HIV prevention: patterns of attribution among HIV-seropositive gay and bisexual men

The Seroconversion Narratives for AIDS Prevention (SNAP) study elicited narratives from recently infected seropositive gay and bisexual men that described the circumstances of their own seroconversion. This analysis of the narratives explored participants' attributions of responsibility for HIV prevention before and after they became infected. Before becoming infected with HIV, responsibility for prevention was often attributed to HIV-negative individuals themselves. These retrospective attributions revealed themes that included feelings of negligence, a sense of consequences, followed by regret. After seroconversion, responsibility for HIV prevention was primarily attributed to HIV-positive individuals themselves. Themes within these attributions included pledges to avoid HIV transmission, a strong sense of burden related to the possibility of infecting someone, and risk reduction strategies that they implemented in an attempt to avoid HIV transmission. Greater understanding of ideas related to responsibility has the potential to increase the effectiveness of HIV prevention interventions.