HIV-Related Stigma and Knowledge in the U.S., 1991-1999

7. Americans are less likely to say they would avoid people with AIDS

 

The odds that the public would avoid a PWA in various hypothetical situations declined by 8-10% each year. In 1991, 19% said they would avoid a coworker with AIDS, and 15% would have had their own children avoid a schoolmate with AIDS. Those proportions declined significantly to less than 10% by 1999. In 1991, 45% said that they would avoid shopping at the grocery store whose owner had AIDS. This proportion dropped significantly by the end of the decade. Nevertheless, even in 1999, roughly three in ten respondents said that they would shop elsewhere.

Item Wording

School child: "What do you think you would actually do if you had a child who was attending school where one of the students had AIDS? Would you send your child to another school, or would you leave your child in the same school?" [IF LEAVE CHILD IN SAME SCHOOL:] "Would you encourage your child to be especially nice to the student with AIDS, would you discourage your child from having any contact with him or her, or would you encourage your child to treat him or her the same as always?"

(Graphic depicts proportion that would send child to another school, or discourage child from having any contact with child with AIDS.)

Coworker: "What do you think you would actually do if you had an office job where one of the men working with you developed AIDS? Would you still be willing to work with him, would you ask that he be assigned to work someplace else, or would you ask that you yourself be assigned to work with someone else?" [IF STILL WILLING TO WORK WITH HIM:] "Would you go out of your way to help him if he needed help with his work, would you try to avoid contact with him, or would you treat him the same as always?"

(Graphic depicts proportion that would ask to work someplace else, have office mate work someplace else, or try to avoid contact with him.)

Grocer: "What do you think you would actually do if you found out that the owner of a small neighborhood grocery store where you like to shop had AIDS? Would you continue to shop there, or would you probably go someplace else to shop?"

(Graphic depicts proportion that would probably go someplace else to shop.)