Erschienen in:
01.08.2014 | Invited Commentary
The Causes and Consequences of HIV-Related Enacted and Internalized Stigma: a Comment on Takada et al.
verfasst von:
Seth C. Kalichman, PhD
Erschienen in:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine
|
Ausgabe 1/2014
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Excerpt
Alongside of the global HIV/AIDS crisis runs a parallel pandemic of AIDS stigma. Prejudice, discrimination, and social isolation are driven by stigmatizing beliefs, adversely impact the lives of people living with HIV infection, and propagate the spread of the virus. The social construction and mental representations of HIV as a stigmatized condition create barriers to HIV testing, protective behaviors, treatment access, medication adherence, and disease management. Fears of discrimination and rejection stemming from stigma lead people to conceal their HIV status, even when non-disclosure is stressful, illegal, or places others at risk [
1]. Stigmas extend beyond the diagnosed person to their social communities, networks, and close relationships, contributing to the burden of AIDS. The extent and ramifications of AIDS stigma are unprecedented in terms of impact on global health. And yet, there are few conceptual models to explain the social processes of HIV-related stigma that extend beyond the earliest theory of stigma offered by Erving Goffman [
2] decades before the first cases of HIV infection. The lack of contemporary models for studying HIV-related stigma has also stymied innovation in research design and methodology. More than 30 years since the first behavioral studies in AIDS and 50 years since Goffman’s seminal work, we are only now seeing the emergence of new ideas, new models, and ground breaking methodologies in the study of HIV-related stigma [
3‐
5]. …