The purpose of this research was to explore HIV/AIDS stigma in the workplace, with a special focus on the stigmatised. The sample consisted of 10 HIV/AIDS positive employees. A qualitative interview schedule was designed. The interview guide was used to facilitate one-on-one interviews with each participant. An analysis of the data revealed that the majority of the participants were shunned by family, friends and partners. Others were too ashamed or afraid to reveal their positive status. The majority of the participants did not feel comfortable revealing their positive status to their line managers and to their co-workers. All participants felt that others viewed people living with HIV/AIDS as dirty and unclean and many had been exposed to stigmatising behaviours towards them due to their HIV/AIDS positive status. As a coping mechanism, most participants noted that they would walk away if stigmatised against. Recommendations were made to address HIV/AIDS stigma in the workplace. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M. A. (Industrial and Organisation Psychology)

Thesis (MTh (Practical Theology and Missiology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The focus of the thesis is on the HIV and AIDS-related stigma and stigmatisation of people who try to live positively with HIV/AIDS within the pandemic. The basic assumption is that there is interplay between the HIVAIDS-related stigma as a cultural phenomenon and the negative perception of the human body. Since a human being is created corporeal and re-created due to the fact that human embodiment is a fundamental ingredient for the understanding of soul, It is argued that in a pastoral approach, a person should be understood holistically. Anthropology within the traditional kerygmatic approach focused mainly on the notion of sin (corruption totalis) within the theological understanding of God’s judgement (judgemental attitude). I have proposed that pastoral anthropology should adopt constructive paradigms and point towards the integration of embodiment (wholeness) in a realistic approach rather than emphasising the notion of sin and forms of dualism. The thesis departs from an eschatological and pneumatological view of the human being, in which the concepts of resurrection and hope are equally crucial. I further argue that a Christian spiritual perspective on embodiment is potentially destigmatising itself. In terms of a pastoral hermeneutic I have shown that in destigmatisation the transformation of the HIV and AIDS-related stigma corresponds to the transformation of the mindset and paradigm of a person (habitus). Through the process of destigmatisation people discover meaning and are enabled to live fully embodied and responsible lives. The thesis is designed as a literature study based on text analysis and hermeneutical reflection. Moreover, in order to develop a pastoral anthropological view, the Scripture is used as a reference point. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsing fokus op die fenomeen van stigmatisiering binne die HIV/AIDS pandemie. Die kernargument is dat stigmatisering as 'n sosiaal-kulturele konstrukt binne die netwerk van verhoudinge direk in verband staan met 'n bepaalde destruktiewe persepsie wat die vraagstuk van liggaamlikheid onmiddellik raak. Vandaar die verdere fokus op die verband tussen liggaamlikheid en die verstaan van die menslike siel binne die raamwerk van 'n pastorale antropologie. Die teologiese invalshoek is die eskatologiese paradigma, die mens as 'n pneumatiese wese en nuwe skepping. Liggaamlikheid deel gelykoorspronklik aan hierdie nuwe wees-funksie van die mens sodat verstaan van die mens as „beliggaamde siel“ en „besielde liggaam“ alle vorme van dualisme in teologiese antropologie teëwerk. Die totale mens is as ‘n beliggaamde mens geskep sodat in pastorale antropologie die menslike persoon holisties verstaan moet word. Om menswees bloot vanuit die perspektief van sonde te benader hou nie rekening met die realisme van die Bybel wat die mens binne die raamwerk van die wysheidsliteratuur sien vanuit die perspektief van genade en vernuwing. Eensydige fokus op die paradigma van sonde dra by tot destruktiewe veroordelende houding (judgemental attitude). Volgens die aard van kruisteologie is die „smet“ en „stigma“ van sonde daar oorwin. In die lig van die opstandingsperspektief is die „dood van stigma“ totaal uitgewis. Hierdie opstandingperspektief moet verreken word in teologiese model wat gerig is op prosesse van destigmatisering binne pastorale hermeneutiek. Die implikasie hiervan is die transformasie van stigmatisernde paradigmas en die skep van pastorale houding (habitus) van begrip en medelye. Deur ‘n dergelike proses van destigmatisasie word mense in die kern van hul weesfunksie kwalitatief bemagtig ten einde vervulde lewens te kan ly. Die tesis volg kwalitatiewe benadering. Dit is voorts literêre studie gebaseer op teks-analises, kritiese reflektering en hermeneutiese metodologie.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Worldwide the stigma attached to psychiatric patients, psychiatric disorders, psychiatrists and the field of Psychiatry is of great concern. The stigmatising perceptions of medical practitioners and medical students towards psychiatric patients have a negative impact on effective treatment, considering the increasing burden psychiatric disorders are placing on communities and health systems. Numerous efforts were attempted and recommendations made for destigmatising medical students' perceptions towards psychiatric patients. It was found that perception usually improved after a clinical rotation in Psychiatry, but the stigmatising perceptions mostly returned a year later. The first clinical exposure to Psychiatry for medical students at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, is during the fourth or fifth year of study. This rotation was revised in 2010 and a service-learning component added. The research question which consequently developed, is: What is the influence of a service-learning approach on destigmatising students' perceptions towards psychiatric patients? The research followed a phenomenological school of thought in an interpretative paradigm with a qualitative-inductive approach. On the last day of a rotation students handed in their written reflections and an in-depth focus group interview was conducted. The focus group interviews were repeated a year later. Students' reflections and the transcribed texts were analysed. This served as the basis for conclusions from which recommendations were made. It was found that students had stigmatising perceptions towards psychiatric patients before their first clinical rotation in Psychiatry. Directly after that students' perceptions were destigmatised to a greater extend. A year later non-stigmatising perceptions of understanding, acceptance, comfortableness, compassion, respect and responsibility were still present, although a few students experienced the limited return of stigmatising perceptions. Students attributed the positive changes to their service-learning experience in combination with the clinical placement at a psychiatric hospital with a friendly atmosphere and where they were exposed to patients not suffering from complex and extreme psychiatric disorders. The non-stigmatising perceptions a year after a clinical rotation in Psychiatry demonstrates the transformative value of service-learning. Service-learning is where meaningful and relevant service is rendered with and in the community, social responsiveness is purposefully emphasised and structured reflections are done to enhance academic learning. As a result of this study medical schools worldwide can take cognisance that a service-learning approach made a significant contribution to the stained destigmatisation of medical students' perceptions towards psychiatric patients. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Stigma teenoor psigiatriese pasiënte, psigiatriese steurings, psigiaters en Psigiatrie as vakgebied is wêreldwyd ʼn groot bron van kommer. Medici en mediese studente se stigmatiserende persep-sies teenoor psigiatriese pasiënte het ʼn negatiewe impak op effektiewe behandeling, veral gesien in die lig van die groterwordende las wat die toename in psigiatriese steurings op gemeenskappe en gesondheidsisteme plaas. Heelwat pogings is aangewend en aanbevelings gemaak om mediese studente se persepsies teenoor psigiatriese pasiënte te destigmatiseer. Daar is bevind dat persepsies gewoonlik verbeter direk na ʼn kliniese rotasie in Psigiatrie, maar dat stigmatiserende persepsies meestal binne ʼn jaar terugkeer. Mediese studente aan die Fakulteit Geneeskunde en Gesondheidswetenskappe, Universiteit Stellenbosch, se eerste kliniese blootstelling aan Psigiatrie is tydens die vierde of vyfde studiejaar. In 2010 is dié rotasie hersien en ʼn diensleerkomponent bygevoeg. Die navorsingsvraag wat hieruit ontwikkel is, is: Wat is die invloed van ʼn diensleerbenadering op die destigmatisering van mediese studente se persepsies teenoor psigiatriese pasiënte? Die navorsing het ʼn fenomenologiese denkrigting gevolg in ʼn interpretatiewe paradigma met ʼn kwalitatief-induktiewe benadering. Studente het skriftelike refleksies op die laaste dag van ʼn rotasie ingehandig en ʼn in-diepte fokusgroeponderhoud is gevoer. ʼn Jaar later is die fokus-groeponderhoude herhaal. ʼn Ontleding van studente se refleksies en die getranskribeerde tekste en gedoen. Dit het gedien het as basis vir die gevolgtrekkings waaruit aanbevelings gemaak is. Daar is gevind dat studente voor hulle eerste kliniese rotasie in Psigiatrie, stigmatiserende persepsies teenoor psigiatriese pasiënte gehad het. Direk daarna was studente se persepsies grotendeels gedestigmatiseer. Na ʼn jaar was nie-stigmatiserende persepsies van begrip, aanvaar-ding, gemaklikheid, deernis, respek en verantwoordelikheid steeds teenwoordig, alhoewel stigma-tiserende persepsies tot ʼn mate by sommige teruggekeer het. Studente het die positiewe verande-ring toegeskryf aan die diensleerervaring in kombinasie met 'n kliniese plasing in die psigiatriese hospitaal waar ʼn vriendelike atmosfeer geheers het en waar daar blootstelling was aan pasiënte wat nie aan komplekse en ekstreme psigiatriese steurings gely het nie. Die nie-stigmatiserende persepsies ʼn jaar na ʼn kliniese rotasie in Psigiatrie toon die transformatiewe waarde van diensleer. Met diensleer word sinvolle en relevante diens met en in die gemeenskap gelewer, doelbewuste klem word op sosiale verantwoordbaarheid gelê en ge-struktureerde refleksie word gedoen om beter akademiese leer te laat plaasvind. Na aanleiding van hierdie studie kan mediese skole wêreldwyd kennis neem dat ʼn diensleer-benadering ʼn betekenisvolle bydrae gelewer het tot die volhoubare destigmatisering van mediese studente se persepsies teenoor psigiatriese pasiënte.

Clinicians’ attitudes and behaviors toward patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are affected by the label’s stigma. Complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) was proposed as a comprehensive and less stigmatizing diagnostic category for clients with BPD and a history of complex trauma. Given considerable similarities across both disorders’ diagnostic criteria, the CPTSD framework holds promise as a means to improve therapists’ attitudes towards clients with BPD and a history of complex trauma. However, this quality of CPTSD had not yet been examined empirically. Using vignettes in a between-subjects experimental design, this study investigated whether CPTSD is a less stigmatizing label than BPD for trauma survivors. Participants were 322 practicing psychotherapists. Evidence of BPD stigma was found, as was an affinity for CPTSD. Results generally supported CPTSD as a less stigmatizing label than BPD; therapists presented with a CPTSD-labeled vignette were somewhat less likely to blame the client for her symptomatic behavior and expected slightly stronger working alliance with the client than therapists presented with the BPD-labeled vignette. However, therapists’ agreement with the BPD diagnosis and theoretical orientation were found to be more salient than diagnostic label in affecting concepts related to the stigmatization of BPD clients. Additionally, familiarity with CPTSD was related to more favorable attitudes toward the client and her course of treatment. Regardless of CPTSD’s recognition as a formal diagnosis, education about the construct is widely recommended for therapists.

Heroin addiction is inclined to arouse fear, rejection and discriminatory behavior among the general public. Evidence shows that the public perceives heroin as harmful and addictive. Heroin is ranked as the most stigmatized condition. While there is robust literature on mental illness stigma, there is limited research concerning addiction-related stigma. There are very few standardized stigma measures related to perceptions toward persons addicted to heroin. The overall aim of the dissertation was to validate an attribution measurement model toward persons addicted to heroin and to determine its psychometric properties. The dissertation’s study employed an adapted 7-factor measurement model (Corrigan et al., 2002) to examine stigmatizing perceptions towards persons addicted to heroin. This is the first study to systematically evaluate model fit by implementing Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM). A total of 657 Sociology students were analyzed over four stages: questionnaire review by expert panel, pilot-test, validation and replication. The study tested multiple incremental models and successfully determined that the results met multiple goodness-of-fit indices. Through ESEM, Sociology-Social Control students supported the hypothesis that the adapted 7-factor attribution measurement model would fit data. The model included: Personal Responsibility, Pity, Anger, Helping Behavior, Dangerousness, Fear and Social Distance factors. Adequate power and sample size was demonstrated to support acceptance of the null hypothesis. In addition to conducting Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), ESEM tested the psychometric properties of the attribution measurement model. Implementing maximum likelihood extraction with oblique geomin rotation using Mplus software, the Sociology-Social Control students’ validation and replication datasets showed an excellent model fit to the data. Results confirmed support for the superiority of the ESEM solution. The ESEM attribution measurement model fit better than the CFA model. Compared to the ESEM model, elevated factor correlations found in the CFA model were caused by the exclusion of meaningful cross-loadings. Strong psychometric properties for the ESEM attribution model were evidenced, with good internal consistency and excellent test-retest reliability. The factor structure was replicable across the two groups of Sociology-Social Control students. Adequate ESEM incremental and convergent validity was supported by the simultaneous examination of the Social Distance scale and the Personal Consequences of Criminal Stigma measures with the measurement model. In the replication sample, familiarity demonstrated less stigmatizing perceptions than the SOC313 Course. Our findings highlight marked differences between the Sociology-Social Control students and the general population’s perceptions of heroin addicts. The Sociology-Social Control students are not afraid of persons addicted to heroin, nor do they hold them responsible for their condition. To conclude, the study provides newly validated measures with adequate reliability to allow investigators to assess other students’ level of addiction stigma. It is anticipated that the dissertation’s study will lead to further comparative psychometric testing with healthcare students that are directly involved with the care and treatment of persons addicted to heroin to provide a better understanding of the factorial structure of the attribution measurement model. Longitudinal data is also needed to examine our model and how levels of perceptions change over time.

This thesis explores gender, disability and literature in the Global South through an examination of the writings of two physically disabled contemporary women writers from Nepal, BIshnu Kumari Waiwa and Jhamak Ghimire. I show how these renowned contemporary writers challenge stigmas of the disabled body by deconstructiong the "ideology of ability" through their poetry, fiction, and autobiographical narratives. Religious and cultural values disable women's autonomy in general, and create even greater disadvantages for women who are physically disabled. Challenging these cultural stigmas, Waiwa and Ghimire celebrate sexuality and disability as sources of creativity, agency, and identity in narratives that deconstruct cultural or social models of sexuality, motherhood, and beauty. In this thesis feminist disability and feminist theory guide an analysis of Waiwa and Ghimire's writing to advance our understanding of gender, culture, disability and literature in the Global South. / by Tulasi Acharya. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

The aims of the current research program were to examine the social-cognitive and sociological models of stigma in relation to student attitudes towards an individual experiencing a mood disorder. Two experiments (Studies 1 and 2) sought to empirically distinguish between controllability and responsibility, both constructs of the attribution model which is subsidiary to the social-cognitive model of stigma. Despite manipulating controllability, participants were reluctant to attribute controllability of cause to individuals experiencing depression or bipolar disorder. The stability of beliefs about the controllability of cause for condition onset was consistent with research suggesting that the Australian public increasingly conceptualise mental disorders in terms of biochemical and genetic causal factors. These findings, in combination with past research linking biogenetic beliefs to negative attitudes, resulted in a change in focus of investigation in Studies 3, 4, 5 and 6 to explain why, contrary to the prediction of the attribution model, biogenetic explanations of mental disorders are associated with the proliferation of stigma. To measure causal beliefs, the Causal Belief Inventory (CBI) was developed in Study 3 and refined in Study 4. The correlational results examined in Studies 4, 5 and 6 found that genetic and biochemical causal beliefs were associated with a number of positive attitudes towards individuals experiencing a mood disorder and that genetic cause was associated with a reduced implicit bias against major depression. Furthermore, each study pointed to the centrality of judgments of differentness in determining affective responses and direct and proxy measures of behaviour. In contrast, manipulation of genetic and psychosocial cause in Study 5 found that causal condition largely failed to impact upon student attitudes. Mediator analysis did, however, find that beliefs about the stability of the vignette actor's condition fully mediated the relationship between the negative influence of genetic cause on proxy helping behaviour. Manipulation of psychosocial, genetic and biochemical cause with the inclusion of a non-depressed control in Study 6 resulted in more ambiguous findings. The combination of findings from Studies 1 to 6 suggest that focusing on the impact of the controllability of cause of depression onset on student attitudes is unwarranted. Instead researchers and public health educators should be examining models which facilitate the examination of the cognitive factors that mediate these relationships. Two such models, namely the social-cognitive and sociological models of stigma, were found to adequately fit the data. Recommendations for integrating these two models of stigma are discussed.

In response to the HIV epidemics since its onset in 1981, several preventive measures have been applied or employed to combat the epidemics. Up to date, the epidemics have reported limited success and/or increased incidence inspite of various interventions. It is widely known that stigma constitute a major setback to preventive interventions of this disease. This informed, amongst others, information, education and communication (IEC) interventions directed at combating HIV stigma through the enhancement and creation of awareness on HIV knowledge. However, lack of adequate and correct knowledge on HIV and AIDS is believed to be a main pre-cursor to HIV stigma. This cross sectional study therefore investigates and reports findings on the associations between HIV stigma and other relevant variables such as HIV related knowledge, exposure to mass media and some socio-demographic characteristics among representatives of the ethnic groups aged between 18 and 49 in the broader Rustenburg community (N = 351). The study utilized some data collected by the Aurum Institute of Health Research in partnership with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the European Union. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistical methods and presented in figures and tables. Independent sample T-tests and ANOVA were employed to compare means while the Pearson’s product moment was used to find the association between variables. A standard multiple regression analysis was applied to assess the predictors of HIV/AIDS stigma. Findings from the study showed an adequate knowledge of HIV/AIDS as 72.8% scored more than 17 out of the 24 basic questions on HIV/AIDS correctly. The respondents’ overall mean HIV/AIDS knowledge score was 18.22±3.80 out of 24 points. However there was a deficit in knowledge on the preventive role of male circumcision in HIV transmission (27.6%) and the high chance of getting HIV infection from sexual intercourse with a recently HIV infected individual (48.4%). Misconceptions existed among the respondents about the association between ritual cleansing of widows and HIV transmission (43.0%) and the stopping of ART at will due to side effects (54.1%). With respect to knowledge acquisition, the leading source of information is the electronic media (52.9% for radio, 75.8% for TV and 81.4% for cell phone) while newspapers (17.2%) are a minor source. Regarding HIV stigma, the findings revealed that HIV stigma is intertwined with other contextual stigmas of gender and sexual immorality. There was a high prevalence in the attribution of blame on female prostitution and promiscuity for the cause of HIV infection in this study. Furthermore, the findings in this study showed very pronounced negative stigmatising attitudes towards HIV infected women in the community especially in relation to child bearing. Levels of HIV/AIDS knowledge and AIDS stigma were influenced by education, perceived socio-economic status, living standard, media exposure, racial differences and employment status (p<0.05). The study revealed that there was a significant main effect of age group (18-24, 25-35, 36-49), specifically with knowledge regarding HIV transmission and the physiological impact of HIV; social distance towards PLWHA and stigmatising attitude towards HIV infected women.This study underscore the importance of developing and implementing stigma reduction interventions in the community to address attitudinal biases towards PLWHA especially regarding the females by encouraging social cohesion and support, HIV disclosure and involvement of role models, more greater awareness regarding PMTCT. Education on the importance of male circumcision and the long life usage of ART are also of utmost importance. To lend support to the current intervention measures on HIV/AIDS messages via a telephone helpline, there is need of sending text messages as a means of increasing HIV/AIDS knowledge should be encouraged. Finally, there is need for further explorative studies in acceptability, perceptions and barriers to male circumcision; the perceptions of ART and HIV infection and the relevance of ART in HIV stigma as well as AIDS stigma regarding childbearing and HIV infected women. Findings from this study have implications for the reduction of HIV related stigma and prevention. It is hoped that these findings and recommendations will greatly inspire, influence and inform policy makers, communities, stakeholders, empower PLWHA to cope with stigma as well as reduce stigma prevalence in the study area in particular and South Africa. Areas of further research that require urgent attention are also highlighted. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Cruz, 1988. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 283-301).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-100).