To explore attributions about chronically ill peers, 545 older adolescents ages 17-26 read a short vignette describing a brief social encounter with a hypothetical peer suffering from a medical condition, and then responded to a series of questionnaires to assess their perceptions of that peer. Nine measures intended to assess perceptions of ill peers were developed and empirically validated. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency was moderate to good for all measures. Component structure of the Peer Acceptance Questionnaire (PAQ), Peer Acceptance Questionnaire ?? 3rd Person (PAQ-F), and Perceived Similarity Questionnaire (PSQ) were also evaluated. Principal components analysis yielded a 2-factor structure of Openness and Egalitarianism for both the PAQ and PAQ-F. A 6-factor structure of (a) Familial/Spiritual, (b) General Health, (c) Social, (d) Behavioral, (e) Physical, and (f) Educational was suggested for the PSQ. Results indicated an interaction between illness type and behavior on acceptance ratings, such that behavior potentiated the effect of illness type on acceptance. In addition, vignette characters with contagious illnesses were rated less favorably than those with noncontagious illnesses, and vignette characters displaying typical behavior were rated more favorably than either withdrawn or aggressive vignette characters. Illness-specific knowledge, ratings of perceived similarity, and ratings of assigned blame predicted acceptance ratings, whereas illness-specific knowledge and acceptance ratings predicted ratings of assigned blame. Finally, significant differences were observed between first- and third-person ratings of both acceptance and assigned blame.

Stigmatization of people with mental illness has negative impact on quality of their life. There are few Czech studies focusing on stigma, but they rather focus only on one element of the problem. Aim of this thesis is to identify level of stigma in the Czech Republic and its socio- demographic predictors. This knowledge will help when choosing target groups for stigma reducing campaign. Thesis focuses on three elements of stigma - problems in knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. Four datasets are used - one from survey conducted within this theses, one from CVVM and two from INRES, which were conducted for NUDZ. Standardised research tools were used to measure knowledge (MAKS scale), attitudes (CAMI scale), behaviour (RIBS scale) and social distance. Predictors were identified using multivariate linear regression analysis. When comparing level of stigma among three elements, behaviour has the highest level and knowledge has the lowest level. Higher level of stigma in knowledge and attitudes is associated with being a male, lower education level and smaller size of residence. Higher level of stigma in behaviour is related to higher age, region and previous contact with person with mental illness. However these relations are rather weak and there are other nonsocio-demographic factors influencing...