INTRODUCTION HIV-related stigma hampers treatment and prevention efforts worldwide. Effective interventions to counter HIV-related stigma are greatly needed. Although the "contact hypothesis" suggests that personal contact with persons living with HIV (PLHIV) may reduce stigmatizing attitudes in the general population, empirical evidence in support of this hypothesis is lacking. Our aim was to ...

BACKGROUND There is limited research examining mental health-related stigma of undergraduates in non-western developing countries. This study examined stigma of undergraduates in Sri Lanka towards another depressed undergraduate. METHODS A hypothetical vignette of an undergraduate suffering from depression was presented. A total of 4650 undergraduates responded to scales assessing their perso...

introduction: a deaf child creates a feeling of stigma in many hearing parents. stigma in mothers can have a negative impact on a child’s treatment and rehabilitation process. therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the extent of stigma in mothers with deaf children.  materials and methods: this descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013 among 90 mothers with deaf children...

Little is known about how people living with HIV in low prevalence contexts face the challenges of stigma and discrimination. Low prevalence and rural communities are unique environments in which HIV-related stigma and discrimination may be intensified due to lower tolerance of differences among people and greater fear of HIV. This study examined the experiences of 16 individuals living with HI...

OBJECTIVE The study seeks to determine the relationships between neuroticism and extroversion, on the one side, and the perception of various dimensions of social stigma, on the other, in psychiatric in-patients with depressive disorders, such as depressive episodes, or mood and anxiety disorders with the presence of depressive symptoms. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 72 patients were examin...

OBJECTIVE Health-related stigma is associated with negative psychological and quality of life outcomes in lung cancer patients. This study describes the impact of stigma on lung cancer patients' psychological distress and quality of life and explores the role of social constraints and illness appraisal as mediators of effect. METHODS A self-administered cross-sectional survey examined psychol...

Studies have shown that stigmatization is linked to lower quality of life; however, only scant research has examined the association between family caregivers' internalization of stigma (affiliate stigma) and their subjective quality of life (subjective well-being, SWB). Furthermore, studies have rarely examined this association via comparison between caregivers of individuals with different de...

This study examined parents' perceptions/awareness and internalization of public courtesy stigma (affiliate stigma) about their children's inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms, and associations between parental affiliate stigma, parental negativity expressed toward the child, and child social functioning. Participants were families of 63 children (ages 6-10; 42 boys) with attention-de...

For many people with epilepsy, the continuing social reality of their condition is as a stigma. Epilepsy stigma has three different levels; internalized, interpersonal, and institutional. While there have been documented improvements in public attitudes towards epilepsy, the remnants of "old" ideas about epilepsy continue to inform popular concepts resulting in a difficult social environment fo...