Journal of Antivirals & Antiretrovirals
Open Access
ISSN: 1948-5964
+44 1300 500008
ISSN: 1948-5964
+44 1300 500008
Yolanda Pastor and Vanessa Perez
Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Antivir Antiretrovir
People with AIDS remain in today's society a stigmatized group. The main objective of this paper is to describe and compare stereotypes towards people with AIDS in two cohorts of Spanish university students 2004 (n=230, Mage=19.77; SD= 1.71; 72.6% girls) and 2012 (n=264; Mage=19.47; SD=1.73; 73.5% girls). Stereotypes were evaluated using two scales, one of which was addressed to assess the cognitive dimension and other to emotional dimension. Both adopted the format of response of the semantic differential. The reliability of the scales (Cronbach's alpha) in both groups took values between 0.71 and 0.84. Descriptive statistics and MANOVA (gender x cohort) were performed. Our results showed that people with AIDS are perceived by university students in both cohorts as reckless, drug users, promiscuous, unfaithful, neglected, sick, prone to prostitution and vicious. The emotions that have been aroused with greater intensity in both groups are: sadness, disgust, fear and worry. Our data show significant differences by cohort in stereotypes -in both dimensions, cognitive (Willks=.91, F=1.87, df=22, p=.010) and emotional (Willks=.89, F=3.29, df=16, p=.000). Students in Cohort 1 indicated perceive people with AIDS with less attractive, more marginalized and less abnormal and dirty than students in cohort 2. Cohort 2 showed more negative emotions toward people with AIDS. These results indicate that stereotypes of Spanish college students toward people with AIDS may be increasing over the years. Students show inconsistent views between what they think, what they feel and what they say they would do.
Email: yolanda.pastor@urjc.es