Abstract

AZEVEDO, Fernando Martins de et al. Attributions of Causality for HIV Infection. Estud. pesqui. psicol. [online]. 2020, vol.20, n.3, pp. 751-769. ISSN 1808-4281.  http://dx.doi.org/10.12957/epp.2020.54346.

The HIV epidemic is a significant problem in Brazil. Men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women are disproportionately affected by the epidemic. Evidence shows that attributions of onset controllability, blame, and responsibility for the HIV infection are higher in cases of unprotected sex and also when the person is homosexual. This article presents the results of an experimental study, which tested the impact of the attributions of onset controllability, blame, and responsibility for the HIV infection when a person is homosexual or transgender. The participants were allocated randomly in six experimental scenarios. The scenarios were about an HIV infection by unprotected sex or by blood transfusion. The infected patient could be a heterosexual man, homosexual man or transgender woman. Our results indicated higher attributions of onset controllability, blame, and responsibility to the homosexual man and to the transgender woman, only in cases of infection by unprotected sex.

Keywords : HIV; social stigma; prejudice; social psychology.

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