Mearns J, Smith D, Grusky O; International Conference on AIDS.

Int Conf AIDS. 1992 Jul 19-24; 8: D523 (abstract no. PoD 5809).

Department of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this research was to construct a theoretically-based measure of people's stigmatization of individuals with AIDS based on Jones et al's (1984) six dimensions of stigma: concealability, course or outcome, disruptiveness, aesthetic qualities, origin, and peril. METHODS: Subjects were 270 American undergraduate students. The following measures were used: Stigma. The stigma scale consisted of 42 items, rationally designed to fall on one of the six dimensions of stigma using a 1 to 7 Likert scale. Social Distance. A 23 item social distance scale was constructed. Behavioral Change. Seventeen items assessed behavioral changes that subjects had made within the past year in order to protect themselves from the AIDS virus. AIDS Knowledge. A 36 item knowledge about AIDS scale was constructed. RESULTS: Internal consistency analyses were performed on the stigma scale, yielding an alpha coefficient of .77. Thirty items were retained, representing 5 items per stigma dimension. Overall, the 30-item stigma scale retained adequate internal consistency for a broad-band measure (alpha = .78). Subscale alphas ranged from .38 for course to .78 for disruptiveness. Stigma, social distance, and behavior change were moderately intercorrelated with each other. Social distance was negatively correlated with both stigma and behavior change -.57 and -.45, respectively, (p less than .01). Stigma and behavior change were positively correlated .43 (p less than .01). Individuals scoring high in stigma reported being less willing to accept being in contact with people with AIDS, and they reported engaging in more behavioral changes to avoid coming into contact with the AIDS virus. CONCLUSIONS: The revised 30-item stigma scale exhibited adequate internal consistency, as well as significant correlations in the expected direction with criterion measures. The scale was also uncorrelated with the Marlowe-Crowne social desirability scale. This research suggests that the stigma scale can be used as a unitary measure of people's attitudes towards persons with AIDS.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• HIV Infections
• Social Distance
• Stereotyping
• methods

Other ID:

• 92403271

UI: 102200985

From Meeting Abstracts