HIV/AIDS stigmatizing attitudes among young people in Swaziland: individual and environmental factors.

A major shortcoming to the understanding and development of HIV/AIDS programs to mitigate social stigma is the paucity of research pertaining to how young people in sub-Saharan African countries perceive those infected with HIV, and how these stigmatizing attitudes are formed, projected and reinforced. The purpose of this study was to examine stigmatizing attitudes toward people living with HIV/ AIDS among young people in Swaziland, southern Africa. A purposive convenience sampling provided urban and rural data for this crosssectional survey. Participants included 941 secondary school students attending four co-educational public schools in Swaziland. Data were collected and analyzed on individual and environmental related factors with students' stigmatizing attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS as outcome variable. Findings from the study suggest that greater HIV/AIDS knowledge and increased peer influence were associated with lower stigmatizing attitudes. Perceived susceptibility was associated with increased stigma toward people living with HIV/AIDS. Both individual and environmental factors contributed to explaining the variance in social stigma; individual factors accounted for the largest amount. A better understanding of the factors associated with social stigma could assist healthcare and social workers to develop appropriate programs to reduce HIV/AIDS related stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]