Keywords

AIDS, Attitudes, HIV, Personal knowledge, Stigma

Abstract

The study of attitudes towards those with AIDS is relatively recent. Most studies have examined attitudes concerning health and medical concerns. Little research has focused on attitudes toward social and behavior concerns. The few that have focused on such attitudes have employed relatively small samples collected primarily out of convenience. The studies that have used national samples have primarily addressed public policy issues. Using national data from the 1988 General Social Survey, this paper examines the effects of personal knowledge about the AIDS virus and other attitudinal variables on four dimensions of social and behavioral concern for those with AIDS in American society. Sociodemographic variables, which prior studies have demonstrated as important predictors of attitudes toward AIDS, are included as controls in this research that presents findings from a multivariate analysis. Results suggests that the impact of personal knowledge of someone with AIDS does not strongly lead to more supportive attitudes regarding the rights of people with AIDS, except when the economic costs of AIDS care is concerned. Directions for future research are presented and discussed.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2004

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Gay, David

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Sociology

Degree Program

Sociology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0000010

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0000010

Language

English

Release Date

May 2004

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Subjects

Arts and Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic; Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Sciences

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Included in

Sociology Commons

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