HIV-related stigma: adapting a theoretical framework for use in India.

ABSTRACT: Stigma complicates the treatment of HIV worldwide. We examined whether a multi-component framework, initially consisting of enacted, felt normative, and internalized forms of individual stigma experiences, could be used to understand HIV-related stigma in Southern India. In Study 1, qualitative interviews with a convenience sample of 16 people living with HIV revealed instances of all three types of stigma. Experiences of discrimination (enacted stigma) were reported relatively infrequently. Rather, perceptions of high levels of stigma (felt normative stigma) motivated people to avoid disclosing their HIV status. These perceptions often were shaped by stories of discrimination against other HIV-infected individuals, which we adapted as an additional component of our framework (vicarious st

SUBMITTER: Steward WT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2603621 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature