Presentation:
Adults living with perinatally acquired HIV (PHIV) in the United States (US) have experienced key historic epochs of an epidemic since the 1990s. They navigated four lifespan periods – childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood – spanning over three decades of the HIV epidemic. This has indelibly shaped the contours of their development and mental health. Influenced by a ‘complex interplay of individual, social and structural stresses and vulnerabilities’ (World Health Organization, 2022), mental health is not merely the absence of mental disorder – it is a state of mental well-being. This paper explores three dimensions of mental well-being – emotional, psychological, and social (Westerhof & Keyes, 2010) – among Black adults living with PHIV in the US, with a focus on their formation in concert with two historic markers – treatment innovation and illness stigma. Drawing from a qualitative study of 20 Black adults living with PHIV in New York City and a select review of the history of pediatric HIV in the US, three dialectic themes will be presented and aligned with emotional well-being (Terminal Illness vs. Chronic Condition), psychological well-being (Innocence vs Culpability), and social well-being (Visibility vs. Invisibility). These findings suggest that historic narratives of the HIV epidemic, and its many iterations, have enduring effects on individual narratives of mental well-being among a welcomed generation of adults living with PHIV.