(Language of the event English)

During his presentation Udi Davidovich a clinical psychologist and a Dr. of Social Psychology will present a series of studies conducted in the Netherlands regarding the exploration of the experiences of living with HIV in the era of biomedical treatment among those diagnosed relatively recently.  The studies will illustrate the actual day-to-day meaning of living with HIV and compare the burden-evaluation of these experiences between MSM living with HIV and the HIV-negative MSM.  For the latter, these are perceptions of burden and those perceptions feed attitudes and possible stigma.  An additional study explores the perception of severity of HIV infection among HIV-negative individuals and how such perception can relate to sexual risk taking.  In conclusion, Udi will present data on the profiles of those who never test for HIV and how hypothetical perceptions regarding the impact of HIV shape the profile of never-testers.