Public Opinion About AIDS Policies: The Role of Misinformation and Attitudes Toward Homosexuals

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
Beteiligte: Price, Vincent, Hsu, Mei-Ling
In: The Public Opinion Quarterly, 56, 1992, 1, S. 29-52
veröffentlicht:
University of Chicago Press
Medientyp: Artikel, E-Artikel

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Umfang: 29-52
ISSN: 0033-362X
1537-5331
veröffentlicht in: The Public Opinion Quarterly
Sprache: Englisch
Kollektion: sid-55-col-jstoras1
JSTOR Arts & Sciences I Archive
Inhaltsangabe

<p>In an effort to better understand the cognitive and attitudinal factors underlying public opinion on AIDS-related issues, this article proposes and empirically tests a model of the relationships between (1) knowledge of HIV transmission, specifically the misinformation that AIDS can be transmitted easily through casual contact with HIV-infected persons; (2) attitudes toward homosexuals, the most prominent of the social groups presently affected by the AIDS crisis; and (3) support for restrictive public policies aimed at HIV-infected persons. Data from two nationally representative surveys conducted in December of 1985 (N = 2,308) and in July of 1987 (N = 2,095) provide evidence that misinformation about AIDS transmission and negative attitudes toward homosexuals are strong predictors of support for stringent restrictions of persons with AIDS. The findings also suggest that several background factors, in particular, education and political liberalism, may also play decisive roles in influencing levels of support for restricting those infected with the AIDS virus.</p>