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"As the United States enters the second decade of the AIDS epidemic, attitudes and beliefs concerning HIV-disease will play an increasingly important role in shaping societal response. Americans will be called upon to bear the epidemic's considerable economic costs and, increasingly, to respond individually to persons with AIDS in their schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, and families. AIDS-related initiatives and referenda will appear with greater frequency on electoral ballots, and AIDS-related policies will be included in candidates' campaign platforms. Consequently, understanding public reactions will be critically important for educating Americans about the epidemic, promoting enlightened public policy, and fostering compassion for persons infected with HIV.
Public attitudes surrounding AIDS are shaped by the complex characteristics of the epidemic. AIDS is a transmissible and, to date, lethal disease; personal reactions to it inevitably are influenced by concerns about individuals' own well-being and that of their loved ones. AIDS also is a highly stigmatized illness. Many persons perceived to be infected with HIV have been fired from their jobs, driven from their homes and socially isolated (Herek, 1990; Herek & Glunt, 1988). This stigma results both from the physical characteristics of AIDS (e.g., its negative effect on physical appearance and ability for social interaction; its communicability; its perceived lethality) and its psychosocial characteristics (i.e., its prevalence among such already-stigmatized groups as gay men, IV-drug users, Blacks, and Hispanics). In particular, attitudes toward gay men appear to exert an important influence on reactions to AIDS (e.g., Herek, 1990; Pryor, Reeder, & Vinacco, 1989; Stipp & Kerr, 1989;)." AIDS-RELATED ATTITUDES IN THE UNITED STATES: A PRELIMINARY CONCEPTUALIZATION