“…Stigmas are socialized stereotypes (Smith, 2007a, 2011), which suggests that everyone in a community, including both spouses in a couple, hold similar beliefs. While there is little research on AATD, studies of other genetic conditions show that psychological distress and negative feelings, such as guilt, frustration, sadness, and anger, are experienced by those receiving the genetic test results (Dohany, Gustafson, Ducaine, & Zakalik, 2012; Lippi, Favaloro, & Plebiani, 2011) and their spouses (Decruyenaere et al, 2004; Keenan, Simpson, Miedzybrodska, Alexander, & Semper, 2013; Metcalfe, Liede, Trinkaus, Hanna & Narod, 2002; Mireskandari et al, 2006; Richards & Williams, 2004). Indeed, communication privacy management (Petronio, 2002) argues that once a person discloses their health news to a confidant, the confidant may feel co-ownership of that information and its implications.…”