Table 3.

HSV Representations: Psychosocial Consequence Dimension

	Not likely n (%)	Somewhat likely n (%)	Likely n (%)	Very likely n (%)
Having HSV would negatively affect the way my sexual partner sees me	1 (0.3)	7 (2.3)	34 (11.3)	258 (86.0)
Having HSV would cause my sexual partner to not want to be with me anymore	20 (6.7)	35 (11.7)	66 (22.1)	178 (59.5)
Having HSV would make me feel ashamed or embarrassed	6 (2.0)	9 (3.0)	33 (11.0)	252 (84.0)
Having HSV would cause me to stop having sex	24 (8.0)	48 (16.0)	76 (25.3)	152 (50.7)
Having HSV would cause me to stop trusting my sexual partners	8 (2.7)	21 (7.0)	54 (17.9)	218 (72.4)
Having HSV would cause my sexual partner to stop trusting me	6 (2.0)	33 (11.0)	51 (16.9)	211 (70.1)
Having HSV means I would always have to use a condom when I have sex	4 (1.3)	11 (3.7)	22 (7.4)	261 (87.6)
Having HSV would make me feel depressed	8 (2.7)	22 (7.4)	40 (13.4)	229 (76.6)
If I had HSV, I would worry about telling a new sexual partner that I had HSV	17 (5.7)	13 (4.3)	32 (10.7)	237 (79.3)
Having HSV would run my sex life	19 (6.3)	28 (9.3)	80 (26.6)	174 (57.8)
If I told someone that I had HSV they would not want to have sex with me	5 (1.7)	9 (3.0)	49 (16.3)	238 (79.1)
If I had HSV I would worry about having to tell my current sexual partner	7 (2.3)	7 (2.3)	37 (12.3)	249 (83.0)

Score range 1–4, higher subscores suggest stronger beliefs about the negative impact of the HSV diagnosis on mental health and intimate relationships. Overall Subscale Mean = 3.60, SD = 0.43.