The psychosocial impact of serological herpes simplex type 2 testing in an urban HIV clinic

Knowledge of Partners’ Genital Herpes Protects against Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Acquisition

“…Concerns range from issues surrounding the accuracy of the tests, to the burden on healthcare practitioners of providing appropriate counseling, to the psychosocial distress that may accompany a new diagnosis of genital herpes [46,47]. Recent studies addressing these concerns have been reassuring: no lasting distress was identified in persons receiving a serologic diagnosis of HSV-2 infection [48][49][50]. Physicians should encourage patients to disclose their genital herpes to partners before the initiation of sexual activity, as currently recommended [8].…”

Herpes simplex virus type 2 serological testing and psychosocial harm: a systematic review

“…Among the six studies that assessed mental health impact, four reported no mental health impact from HSV serological testing on 203 participants 27 28 32 33. There were no changes in mental health scores, depression, anxiety or mood scores when compared with baseline,28 32 when compared with HSV-2-seronegative participants28 32 or when compared with HSV-2-seropositive individuals with a previous diagnosis of genital herpes 33.…”

“…Four studies also compared participants who tested HSV-2 positive with participants who tested HSV-2 negative 25 28 31 32. Three studies compared responses in HSV-2-positive participants with and without a history of genital herpes 27 30 33…”

“Yes Means Yes:” A New Approach to Sexual Assault Prevention and Positive Sexuality Promotion

“…The MSSCQ is a 100-item self-report questionnaire that measures 20 areas of sexuality: sexual anxiety, sexual self-efficacy, sexual-consciousness, motivation to avoid risky sex, chance/luck sexual control, sexual preoccupation, sexual assertiveness, sexual optimism, sexual problem self-blame, sexual monitoring, sexual motivation, sexual problem management, sexual esteem, sexual satisfaction, power-other sexual control, sexual selfschemata, fear of sex, sexual problem prevention, sexual depression, and internal sexual control. Single subscales or groups of subscales have been used by several researchers (e.g., Meyer et al, 2005). Good internal consistency for all 20 subscales was determined by Snell (1995, as cited in Snell, 1998.…”