HIV/AIDS stigmatizing attitudes among young people in Swaziland: individual and environmental factors
Buseh, A.G.; Park, C.G.; Stevens, P.E.; McElmurry, B.J.; Kelber, S.T.
Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention in Children and Youth 7(1): 97-120
2006
DOI: 10.1300/j499v07n01_06Document Number: 199548
A major shortcoming to the understanding and development of HIV/AIDS programmes to mitigate social stigma is the paucity of research pertaining to how young people in sub-Saharan African countries perceive those infected with HIV, and how these stigmatizing attitudes are formed, projected and reinforced. The aim of this study was to examine stigmatizing attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS among young people in Swaziland. A purposive convenience sampling provided urban and rural data for this cross-sectional survey conducted between August and November 1999. Participants included 941 secondary school students attending four co-educational public schools in Swaziland. Data on individual and environmental related factors were collected and analysed, with students' stigmatizing attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS as an outcome variable. Greater HIV/AIDS knowledge and increased peer influence were associated with lower stigmatizing attitudes. Perceived susceptibility was associated with increased stigma towards people living with HIV/AIDS. Both individual and environmental factors were able to explain the variation in social stigma; individual factors accounted for the largest amount. A better understanding of the factors associated with social stigma could assist health care and social workers to develop appropriate programmes to reduce HIV/AIDS-related stigma.