Welcome to our publications page! It is very important to Dr. Serovich and colleagues to make our research findings available to the public. From this page you may choose publications related to a specific research project, or simply click the "general" button below for articles and presentations by Dr. Serovich and associates. You will be able to read and view all of the articles online by using Adobe Reader. Please contact Dr. Judy Kimberly at (813)974-6013 or jkimberly@usf.edu for paper copies of any article.

  • The Kiss & Tell Project for Men
  • The Kiss & Tell Project for Women
  • MSM Disclosure Intervention
  • Other HIV-Related Publications
  • Non HIV-Related Publications

Disclosure to Family

The "Disclosure to family? You choose" intervention for HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) was designed to help men improve their HIV-disclosure skills and gain comfort and confidence disclosing to family members. Dr. Julianne Serovich, Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science in the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University, developed the pilot intervention in conjunction with other HIV researchers, prevention specialists, and HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM), and recruited research participants to test the program's effectiveness.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: person facilitated face-to-face individual sessions, or a wait-list control group. Participants engaged in several exercises to help learn disclosure strategies, identify costs and rewards of particular strategies, ways to minimize disclosure costs, and how to deal with reactions. "Participation in the study may offer opportunities for increased knowledge, improved skills, and personal growth," says Dr. Serovich. "For those participants struggling with disclosure decisions, this experience may be cathartic. For example, simply discussing the struggles surrounding secrecy related to one's HIV status may be relieving. Such discussions may also offer hope about the positive consequences of disclosure and provide individuals alternative ways in which to think about the benefits of disclosure." "Our hope is that by improving communication skills and incorporating new tools for disclosure participants may reduce emotional distress, increase intimacy, and improve access to social support. Participants may experience increased levels of empowerment (through proactive self-disclosure), enhanced sense of responsibility to self and others, and feel rewarded for taking positive actions."

  • Serovich, J. M., Grafsky, E. L., & Reed, S. (in press). Comparing regret of disclosing HIV versus sexual orientation information by MSM. AIDS Care.
  • Serovich, J. M., Grafsky, E. L., & Craft, S. M. (in press). Does family matter to HIV-positive men who have sex with men? Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.

The Kiss & Tell Project for Men*

* The Kiss & Tell Project for Men is the working title for the NIMH funded grant titled "Disclosure and Behavior Change for PLWA's: A Longitudinal Study" (R29 MH 56292).

The Kiss & Tell Project for Women

  • Ostrom Delaney, R. A., Serovich, J. M., & Lim, J. (2009). Psychological differences between HIV-positive mothers who disclose to all, some, or none of their biological children. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 35(2), 175-180.
  • McDowell, T. L., & Serovich, J. M. (2007). The effect of perceived and actual social support and mental health of HIV+ individuals. AIDS Care, 19, 1223-1229.
  • Craft, S. M., Delaney, R. O., & Bautista, D. T., & Serovich, J. M. (2007). Pregnancy decisions among women with HIV. AIDS and Behavior, 11(6), 927-935.
  • Ostrom, R. A., Serovich, J. M., & Lim, J. (2008). Reasons for and against maternal HIV disclosure to children and perceived child reaction. AIDS Care, 20(7), 876-880.
  • Serovich, J. M., Lim. J., & Mason, T. L. (2008). A retest of two HIV disclosure theories: The women's story. Health and Social Work, 33(1), 23-31.
  • Serovich, J. M., McDowell, T. & Grafsky, E. (2008).Women's report of regret of HIV disclosure to family, friends and sex partners. AIDS and Behavior, 12(2), 227-231.
  • Serovich, J. M., Craft, S. M., & Yoon, H. (2007).Women's HIV disclosure to immediate family. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 21(12), 970-980.
  • Craft, S. M., & Serovich, J. M. (2007). The impact of mental health, sexual desire, and sexual importance on the sexual behavior of women with HIV. AIDS Care, 19(10), 1219-1222.
  • Ostrom, Robin A., Julianne M. Serovich, JiYoung Lim and Tina L. Mason. (2006) "The Role of Stigma in Reasons for HIV Disclosure and Non-Disclosure to Children." AIDS Care, 18(1), 60-65.
  • HIV/AIDS Disclosure: A Comparison of Men and Women's Rates, Reasons, and Reactions. PowerPoint presentation given by Dr. Julianne Serovich on 4/30/03.

MSM Disclosure Intervention

Other HIV-Related Publications*

* Publications listed on this section draw on several research projects conducted by Dr. Serovich, including smaller pilot studies which led to the large, longitudinal projects called The Kiss & Tell Project for Men and The Kiss & Tell Project for Women.

Non HIV-Related Publications