HIV/AIDS Stories on the World Wide Web and Transformation Perspective

Abstract

Survivor stories have been an important part of therapy and social support for persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome AIDS (PLWHAs), and the World Wide Web has made these stories accessible to a vast audience. These stories are examined in the light of the concept of "transformation perspective" defined as a self-communicative experience that changes an individual's life so that priorities and self-identity are refocused. The trigger event that alters the individual's life might be a diagnosis with cancer, HIV, diabetes, or some other serious illness; divorce; financial tragedy; unemployment; or retirement. The "disorienting dilemma," according to Mezirow, leads to self-examination, and thus to changes in the individual's frame of reference. The present study found that PLWHA's stories with more details were more likely to reflect transformation perspective.

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