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THE “MORAL CAREER” OF PERINATALLY HIV-INFECTED CHILDREN: REVISITING GOFFMAN'S CONCEPT
HIV-infected children
HIV-infected adolescent
HIV vertical transmission
Primary socialisation
Author
Affilliation
Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado. Departamento de Doenças Infecciosas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Comunicação e Informação Científica e Tecnológica em Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado. Departamento de Doenças Infecciosas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado. Departamento de Pediatria. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Educação em Ambiente e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Comunicação e Informação Científica e Tecnológica em Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado. Departamento de Doenças Infecciosas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado. Departamento de Pediatria. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Educação em Ambiente e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Abstract
HIV-infected children usually live in vulnerable situations, experiencing discrimination and stigma commonly felt by
other people living with HIV/AIDS. The present study aims to analyse primary socialisation of HIV-infected children
and adolescents recruited from a public health service in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) as a social process that shapes a new
generation of stigmatised and vulnerable persons. Research was informed by an interactionist perspective, focusing on
key aspects of HIV-infected children and adolescents life histories under the conceptual frame of Erving Goffman’s
theories regarding “moral careers”. Goffman defines the making of a moral career as the process through which a person
learns that she/he possesses a particular attribute, which may lead her/him to be discredited by members of the
surrounding society. We have identified aspects of life histories of HIV-vertically infected children and adolescents for
each aspect of “moral career” as described by Goffman, relating them to as family structure, the experience of living
HIV within the family, and the position and family role of a given subject. The patterns of “moral career” proposed by
Goffman in 1963 were useful in identifying components of HIV-related stigma among children and adolescents. These
include gender and social disadvantages, difficulty in coping with a child with a potentially severe disease, orphanhood,
abandonment, adoption and disclosure of one’s HIV serostatus. Primary socialisation of HIV-infected children and
adolescents is a key piece of the complex HIV/AIDS-labelling process that could be targeted by interventions aiming to
decrease stigma and marginalisation. Health care workers and stakeholders should be committed to ensuring education
and guaranteeing the legal rights of this specific population, including the continuous provision of quality health care,
full access to school and support to full disclosure of HIV diagnosis.
Keywords
StigmaHIV-infected children
HIV-infected adolescent
HIV vertical transmission
Primary socialisation
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