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Stigmatization of individuals with sexually transmitted infections: effects of illness and observer characteristics
Author(s) -
Foster Lyndsay R.,
Byers E. Sandra
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/jasp.12036
Subject(s) - blame , attribution , psychology , stigma (botany) , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry
There has been little experimental research examining characteristics that contribute to the stigmatization of individuals with sexually transmitted infections ( STIs ) other than HIV . We examined 3 illness characteristics ( STI type, control over transmission, target gender) and 3 observer characteristics (sexual attitudes, sexual experience, observer gender) characteristics. Undergraduates ( N = 207) read 1 of 8 vignettes and provided ratings of enacted stigma, felt stigma, and attributions of blame. As predicted, ratings of blame and stigmatization were significantly greater by individuals with more conservative attitudes and in the conditions in which the target had more behavioral control and contracted herpes. We found little evidence for a sexual double standard. Implications for the development and maintenance of illness‐related stigmas are discussed.