Threats to identity in survivors of multiple AIDS-related losses

Survivors of multiple AIDS-related losses face threat to their identity because of the extreme disruption to their personal, assumptive, and interpersonal worlds. This article briefly explains the experience of multiple-loss survivors and includes a case history of a survivor. An individual's sense of self is transformed through identification with the disease. In the gay community, a particularly strong identification with AIDS arose. One outcome of the meshing of an AIDS and homosexual identity is the tendency for gays to assume an identity in relation to HIV ("I am HIV positive/negative.") Personality alteration is not uncommon and may include an inability to trust, labile emotionality, and diffuse anger. Erik Erikson's developmental stage model is used to clarify the confusion survivors face in maintaining and forming identity. Many survivors are catapulted into an integrity versus despair task, reporting many similarities with the situation of their grandparents. The survivor's interpersonal connection to the world, especially their connection to a community, is severely shaken. The article does not ignore the potential for positive identity growth arising from this tragedy. Conclusions from this experience may have applicability in other areas of multiple, ongoing losses.