The experiences of young adults living with HIV in Malta

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the experience of young adults living with HIV in Malta, who were receiving treatment at the time of research. It looks at three main facets of the experience: the process of disclosure; biographic disruption; and stigma and discrimination. The data derive from seven semi-structured interviews with informants who had been diagnosed with HIV, who belonged to the 18-30 age group, and who were living and receiving treatment in Malta at the time of research. In respect of disclosure, three referents were analytically identified: friends, family and partner/s. Disclosure varied according to type and quality of relationship, one constant being that informants disclosed to their partners. As regards biographic disruption, all informants had experienced it to some extent or other. However, most had largely overcome it and had successfully integrated their diagnosis and condition into their everyday lives – for example, having been diagnosed with HIV had not inhibited informants from planning and establishing family (including having children). Finally, stigma and discrimination did not emerge as major and/or definitional features of the experience of living with HIV. While some participants had experienced instances of stigma or discrimination, they did not describe them as sustained or life-changing. It is likely that this last aspect of the experience in part reflects a broader social, cultural and attitudinal shift in contemporary Malta.