AIDS stigma and contact with persons with AIDS: Effects of direct and vicarious contact

This paper examines the relationship between AIDS-related stigma and (a) direct, personal contact with people with AIDS (PWAs), and (b) vicarious contact-through mass media-with a public figure with AIDS or HIV. Data are presented from a 2-wave national telephone survey with a probability sample of U.S. adults (ns = 538 at Wave 1; 382 at Wave 2) and an oversample of Black Americans (ns = 607 and 420, respectively). Direct contact with a PWA was associated with less support for coercive AIDS policies, less blame for PWAs, and less avoidance of PWAs. Vicarious contact-operationalized as the self-reported impact of Earvin ''Magic'' Johnson's disclosure of his HIV infection-appeared to have its greatest impact among respondents who previously had manifested high levels of stigma. In that group, levels of stigma diminished somewhat to the extent that respondents reported having been strongly influenced by Johnson's announcement.