Mothers' Experiences of an Adult Child's HIV/AIDS Diagnosis: Maternal Responses to and Resolutions of Accountability for AIDS.

Based on 13 in-depth interviews, this paper addresses mothers' initial reactions to an adult child's HIV diagnosis. Mothers described responses that included intense personal and emotional reactions. Additionally, mothers acknowledged the importance of resolving initial blame paradigms for the diagnosis, which included facing and resolving feelings of personal responsibility for the adult child's illness. Addressing feelings of blame and initial emotional reactions helped mothers to play active roles in the social support of their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]