Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #107160

Helen-Maria Lekas, PhD, Center for the Psychosocial Study of Health & Illness, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, 100 Haven Avenue, Suite 6A, New York, NY 10032, 212-304-6488, HL11@columbia.edu and Karolynn Siegel, PhD, Sociomedical Sciences/ Center for the Psychosocial Study of Health and Illness, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 100 Haven Avenue, Suite 6A, New York, NY 10032.

Background: Although research has documented the continued adverse effects of stigma on women with HIV/AIDS, variations in their experiences of felt stigma have been insufficiently examined. This study analyzed the role of race/ethnicity in shaping women's diverse interpretations of HIV stigma and explored how interpretations shape feelings of stigmatization. Methods: A content analysis of in-depth interviews with 75 women with HIV/AIDS equally divided among African American, Puerto Rican, and White non-Hispanic was conducted. The sample consisted of women 20-50 years old, from across the disease and time-since-diagnosis continuum. Results: Women across racial/ethnic lines agreed that societal perceptions of HIV/AIDS are not color blind. African American and Puerto Rican women believed the racial double standard casts them as drug-using prostitutes and society blames them for becoming infected, unlike White women. Discrediting this stereotype as racist, protected some non-White women from shame. Women across racial/ethnic groups also agreed that non-White communities are more familiar with, and therefore more accepting of infected persons than White communities. While this perception shielded some African American and Puerto Rican women from shame, others continued to feel shame because of the larger society's tainted depiction of the disease. Perceiving the White community as prejudiced and viewing Whites as the numerical minority in the AIDS epidemic, White women associated their feelings of shame and alienation to their own community and the AIDS community. Conclusions: Research and interventions to counter stigma should recognize that women's race-related interpretations of stigma have a profound impact on their feelings of stigmatization.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Recognize how, depending on their racial/ethnic background, women with HIV/AIDS provide different interpretations of the stigma associated with the disease.
• 2. Understand the process by which stigma interpretations shape women’s feelings of stigmatization.
• 3. Identify the factors that contribute to resisting or surrendering to feelings of stigmatization.
• 4. Develop more effective public education interventions for decreasing the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and individual-level interventions to strengthen women’s ability to resist feelings of stigmatization.

Keywords: Social Inequalities, Women and HIV/AIDS

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation