Social Stigma, HIV/AIDS Knowledge, and Sexual Risk: A Cross-Cultural Analysis1

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to evaluate relationships linking social stigma, HIV/AIDS knowledge, and sexual risk among African American (AA) and South African (SA) college students. One major barrier to HIV prevention efforts is the social stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. Based on the Burkholder et al. (1999) findings, persons who engage in greater stigmatization of persons with AIDS (PWA) and gay people are associated with greater sexual behavior risk for HIV/AIDS. The present study attempted to replicate the Burkholder et al. study using African American and South African college students, but the findings were inconsistent with the aforementioned study. AA respondents had higher social stigma of PWA and gays and higher condom self‐efficacy. While SA respondents were less likely to stigmatize PWA and gay persons and had high‐perceived risk of being infected, they reported engaging in high‐risk sexual behavior. The authors discuss the differences that may account for the dissimilar findings.

A Cognitive Analysis of College Students’ Explanations for Engaging in Unprotected Sexual Intercourse

“…These factors are categorized across many dimensions, including drug and alcohol use (Poulin & Graham, 2001; Roberts & Kennedy, 2006), relationship/intimacy factors (Aalsma, Fortenberry, Sayegh, & Orr, 2006; Civic, 1999; Prince & Bernard, 1998), pleasure and performance issues (Crosby, Graham, Yarber, & Sanders, 2004), cultural beliefs about condom use and transmission of infection (Braithwaite & Thomas, 2001; Duncan, Harrison, Toldson, Malaka, & Sithole, 2005), low perceived susceptibility (Civic, 2000; Opt & Loffredo, 2004), lack of preparation (van Empelen & Kok, 2008) and poor access or lack of availability (Fenaughty & Namyniuk, 2004; Sneed et al, 2001). …”

The Effects of Assessment Mode and Privacy Level on Self‐Reports of Risky Sexual Behaviors and Substance Use Among Young Women1

“…For example, in a study conducted by Robinson and West (1992), the authors found greater disclosure of STD symptoms in CASI than SAQ in a sample of STD clinic patients. STDs and related symptoms are highly stigmatized in the U.S. and throughout the world (Duncan, Harrison, Toldson, Malaka, & Sithole, 2005; Herek, Widaman, & Capitanio, 2005; Visser, Makin, & Lehobye, 2006). Thus, the fact that assessment mode differences emerged among STD clinic patients, but not among healthy college students, may reflect a tendency for CASI effects to be most pronounced in research settings in which there is more at stake for disclosing sensitive, highly stigmatized behaviors.…”

Comparing the awareness of and beliefs in sexually transmitted infections among university students in Madagascar and the United States of America

“…Cross-cultural studies yield information that is useful in informing public health programming for young adults. For example, a study comparing American and South African university students, found that Americans were more likely to stigmatize gay people and individuals with HIV/AIDS, had higher condom self-efficacy, and a lower perceived risk of infection than South Africans, although both populations engaged in high-risk sexual behavior ( Duncan et al, 2005 ). In another study, a comparison of university students from the United States, Turkey, and South Africa found differences in sexual behaviors (e.g., age of sexual debut, number of partners, condom usage) and perceived HIV/AIDS risk ( Adefuye et al, 2011 ).…”

“…In the United States, many studies have looked at knowledge, belief, and disease risk around STIs and HIV/AIDS for young adults. First, studies testing young adults’ knowledge of STIs and HIV/AIDS found that although American young adults score higher than young adults from other countries ( Benotsch et al, 2004 ), they still have significant gaps in knowledge ( Hingson, Strunin & Berlin, 1990 ; Benotsch et al, 2004 ; Duncan et al, 2005 ). For example, American STI clinic patients scored higher on an HIV/AIDS knowledge test than Russian clinic patients, but still had knowledge deficits related to the link between STIs and use of preventative methods (differences were unrelated to patients’ educational achievements; Benotsch et al, 2004 ).…”