Publication Cover
AIDS Care
Psychological and Socio-medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV
Volume 18, 2006 - Issue 3: AIDS Impact
334
Views
25
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

AIDS-related stigma and attitudes towards AIDS-infected people among adolescents

, &
Pages 208-214 | Published online: 19 Aug 2006
 

Abstract

This research examined the co-occurrence of accurate and inaccurate knowledge about HIV transmission among adolescents. Analyses were also conducted to examine the way in which variables related to demographic factors, personal characteristics, parent and peer relationships, and school involvement are associated with attitudes towards HIV/AIDS-infected people. Social and psychological processes that contribute to AIDS-related stigma are also described.

Methods. Data were collected from the Portuguese sample of the ‘Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children – 2002 – a collaborative WHO study’. The study provided data representative of 6137 Portuguese adolescents at national level. Based on these results, we conducted 14 focus groups discussions.

Results. Adolescents presented high levels of knowledge about HIV transmission. However, the proportion of young people who hold misperceptions is also high. A multiple regression analysis identified several associations with attitudes towards HIV-infected persons. The focus groups showed that adolescents believe that people with AIDS experienced discrimination and social exclusion. Adolescents’ opinions for HIV-infected persons were mostly positive and tolerant, although some adolescents showed an ambivalent attitude and undefined fears.

Conclusion. These findings have significant implications to implement and design comprehensive interventions with impact in adolescents’ attitudes towards people with HIV/AIDS.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the team ‘Aventura Social’ for data collection and general analysis. The Portuguese study ‘Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children/2002 – WHO’, was partially supported by a grant of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia FCT Project PSIDA/PSI/49649/2003 and had technical and economic support of CNLCS (National Agency for AIDS study and prevention).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Margarida G. Matos2

* PhD. Student Grant SFRH/BD/5058/2001

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 53.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 464.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.