Table 3.
Predisposing factors that may hamper couple interdependence
| Characteristic | Exemplar text | Participant identifier |
|---|---|---|
| Lack of communication and trust | ||
| Dishonesty | “You should not live lying to each other. Sometimes someone lies to the other, they are sick and the other person is healthy. So this other person will bring death to the other here in their house because there is no openness and the healthy person will contract the disease. If you are open with each other you can find a way of preventing this.” | Pregnant woman #27, HIV-positive |
| Mistrust | “If there is mistrust in the house, there will be no communication in that house because you cannot share with me something and you do not trust me and myself I will do the same to you if you do not trust me.” | Male partner #23, HIV-positive |
| Polygamous marriages | “When the HIV virus strikes, for one to know that one of us is sick and the other is not becomes hard, since he marries every now and then, yet he doesn't want to reveal his status to me. When you ask him if he has gone for a test with these women he says … I should stay away. At the end of it, I am left staring since I can't do anything about it …” | Pregnant woman #06, HIV-negative |
| Wife inheritance | “There are so many women who have lost their husbands so you find them coming to your husband for companionship purposes. You find that this woman tries all ways and means until she gets your husband to inherit her, yet you do not know the nature of the disease or ailment that led to her husband's death.” | Pregnant woman #01, HIV-negative |
| Financial difficulties | “She realized that my income had depreciated. She decided to run away with the money she had collected from the business. She left me with a child and I found it difficult to stay alone with the child.” | Male partner #07, HIV-negative |
| Long-distance relationships | “Currently, life is difficult. I am very far from my wife. The child might become sick … She is like a single parent in the house … I therefore think we need to be together … She might wonder whether I have rejected her or not … So being close to her is good because you can help her in a way or another.” | Male partner #03, HIV-negative |