HIV-related stigma among African, Caribbean, and Black youth in Windsor, Ontario

Bibliographic Data

ID19444470
AuthorsRobert Mihan (University of Windsor), Jelani Kerr (0000-0003-4749-985X, University of Louisville, corresponding author), Eleanor Maticka-Tyndale (0000-0002-8608-5572, University of Windsor), The ACBY Team, The ACBY Team The ACBY Team
Year2016
Volume28
Issue6
Pages758-763
Publication date2016-06-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAIDS Care (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0954-0121 • E-ISSN: 1360-0451
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09540121.2016.1158397
PMID26984278
OpenAlexW2301229680
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited32

HIV-related stigma has been shown to undermine prevention, care, treatment, and the well-being of people living with HIV. A disproportion burden of HIV infection, as well as elevated levels of HIV-related stigma, is evidenced in sub-Saharan African (SSA) and African-diasporic populations. This study explores factors that influence HIV-related stigma among 16- to 25-year-old youth residing in a Canadian city who identify as African, Caribbean, or Black. Stigma, as rooted in cultural norms and beliefs and related social institutions, combined with insights from research on stigma in SSA and African-diasporic populations, guided the development of a path analytic structural equation model predicting levels of HIV-related stigmatizing attitudes. The model was tested using survey responses of 510 youth to estimate the direct and indirect influences of ethno-religious identity, religious service attendance, time in Canada, HIV/AIDS knowledge, HIV-testing history, sexual health service contact, and gender on HIV-related stigma. Statistically significant negative associations were found between levels of stigma and knowledge and HIV-testing history. Ethno-religious identity and gender had both direct and indirect effects on stigma. African-Muslim participants had higher levels of stigma, lower knowledge, and were less likely to have been tested for HIV infection than other ethno-religious groups. Male participants had higher levels of stigma and lower knowledge than women. Time in Canada had only indirect effects on stigma, with participants in Canada for longer periods having higher knowledge and less likely to have been tested than more recent arrivals. While the strength of the effect of knowledge on stigmatizing attitudes in this research is consistent with other research on stigma and evaluations of stigma-reduction programs, the path analytic results provide additional information about how knowledge and HIV-testing function as mediators of non-modifiable characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, religion, and time in a country

Attendance · Political science · Psychiatry · Social stigma · Sociology · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Demography · Gender Studies · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Psychology · Immunology