University Students' Perception of People Living with HIV/AIDS: Discomfort, Fear, Knowledge and a Willingness to Care.
People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are often subject to blame, fear and avoidance, particularly if they are perceived as personally responsible for their infection due to their risky behaviour or life style choices. Some people however, react to PLWHA with sympathy and a willingness to care. This paper explores how university students (n = 282) perceive different types of PLWHA, in terms of how comfortable it is to be in contact with them. Students were most sympathetic towards children with HTV/AIDS, and felt most discomfort with intravenous drug users and prostitutes. Bi- and homosexuals with HTV/ AIDS were mostly positively perceived, while many respondents had difficulties in expressing an opinion on haemorrhagic disease patients. Discomfort was associated with a fear of infection, unwillingness to care for PLWHA and an ignorance of HTV/AIDS. Women and older students tended to fear infection less than men and younger students. We conclude that although over time the perception of PLWHA has improved, there is still a need for enlightenment, particularly with respect to the most vulnerable groups such as intravenous drug users, haemorrhagic disease patients and prostitutes. Keywords: Student, Types of PLWHA, Care, Discomfort, Fear, Knowledge Introduction The UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic (2012) estimated that at the end of 2011 there were about 34 million people living with HIV. Approximately 2.5 million people acquired HIV infection and about 1.7 million people died from AIDS-related causes in 2011 (UNAIDS 2012). People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are often subject to blame, fear and avoidance, though there are also those who perceive PLWHA with sympathy and willingness to care (e.g. Paxton et al., 2005; Weiss, Ramakrishna, & Somma 2006.) Fear and avoidance due to illness may lead to stigma. A stigmatized person may deviate from the model of standard human being, and therefore be negatively perceived (Goffman, 1990; Link & Phelan, 2001; Major & O'Brian, 2005; Paxton et al,. 2005; Weiss, Ramakrishna & Somma, 2006; Wong & Wong, 2006; Heijnders & Van Der Meij, 2006). In a post-welfare state, stigma such as that relating to HIV/AIDS is largely founded on the idea of personal responsibility (Scambler, 2006, 293). The responsibility for health lies with the individual who is presumed to be able to manage their health risks by making the right choices and life style changes (Musso & Wakefield, 2009). Perceptions of responsibility and dangerousness tend to lead to either fear and avoidance, or pity and a willingness to care (see Small, 1993; Lupton, 1999; Cobb & De Chabert, 2002; Hegarty & Golden, 2008; Persson & Newman, 2008). Background Major and O'Brian (2005, 395; see also Link & Phelan, 2001; Parker & Aggleton, 2003) define stigma as an attribute that conveys a devalued social identity in some particular social relationship. Stigma does not reside in the person as such, but in the way members of the community oversimplify certain social identities and evaluate them negatively. This may result in discrimination and the exclusion of the stigmatized person. Stigma is a context-specific social construct and Scambler (2006, 293) remarks that in the post welfare state, stigma is often justified by the idea of personal responsibility. Particularly, health related stigma indicates a personal responsibility because many illnesses such as HIV/AIDS are regarded as being outcomes of personal choice and a risky life style. People acquire HIV in various ways, and this has implications for the assessment of the personal responsibility of the unwell. This is not a totally new development. Indeed, Small (1993, 90) observes that the link between an epidemic caused by a virus and individual moral failure (particularly in sexual behaviour) was established as early as the 19th century. For instance, the vulnerability to typhoid fever, cholera, tuberculosis, cancer and in particular venereal diseases was often associated with individual moral deficiency and social marginality. …