Hiv/aids related stigma and sexual prejudice among students at the University of the Western Cape

Abstract

South Africa has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in sub Saharan Africa. A major challenge to combating the HIV pandemic in South Africa is stigma and discrimination of people who are HIV positive. HIV related stigma poses a major barrier to the treatment and management of the disease. Discriminatory attitudes are also shown to same-sex sexualities. The aim of this study to determine students' attitudes towards people living with HIV and AIDS and sexual prejudice. The main objectives were to measure HIV stigma, sexual prejudice and to compare students' attitudes in terms of gender, race, religious affiliation and religiosity. Social identity theory was the theoretical framework utilised in the study. A descriptive cross sectional survey design using convenient sampling was used to gather data. The participants consisted of 129 students in the Community and Health Sciences Faculty at the University of the Western Cape who have been registered for an introductory psychology module. The study was conducted according to the ethical guidelines of the Ethics Committee of the University of the Western Cape. Participants were guaranteed anonymity and confidentiality. All participants signed consent letters before completing the questionnaire. Data was collected using three self- administered questionnaires: the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire to assess religious beliefs; the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay men Revised Scale to measure sexual prejudice and the Aids Related Stigma Scale to measure HIV / AIDS related stigma. Descriptive and inferential statistics using chi square analyses were used to establish the relationship between different variables of the study. The results showed an overall high prevalence of HIV / AIDS related stigma and sexual prejudice. There was no significant difference in HIV / AIDS related stigma and sexual prejudice in terms of gender, race, religion and religiosity. The implications of the study findings are discussed.