Table 4.
Response option frequencies for each stigma item (n = 721)
| Stigma construct | Indicator | N (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | Sometimes | Most of the time | ||
| Anticipated stigma | ‘People in my community think that a person with HIV is disgusting.’ | 520 (72.1) | 158 (21.9) | 43 (6.0) |
| ‘People in my community think that HIV is a punishment from God or from ancestors.’ | 578 (80.2) | 115 (16.0) | 28 (3.9) | |
| Enacted stigma | ‘I have been hurt by how people reacted when they found out I have HIV’a | 663 (92.0) | 45 (6.2) | 13 (1.8) |
| ‘I have stopped spending time with some kids because of their reactions to my HIV status.’ | 698 (96.8) | 19 (2.6) | 4 (0.6) | |
| ‘I have lost friends by telling them I have HIV.’ | 706 (97.9) | 13 (1.8) | 2 (0.3) | |
| ‘I’ve been teased because of my HIV’ | 702 (97.4) | 14 (1.9) | 5 (0.7) | |
| Internalized stigma | ‘Lundi is very careful who he tells he has HIV. Are you careful who you tell?’a | 145 (20.1) | 81 (11.2) | 480 (66.6) |
| ‘Sometimes Lundi feels that he/she is not as good as other kids because he has HIV. Do you ever feel this way?’ | 596 (82.7) | 87 (12.1) | 23 (3.2) | |
| ‘Sometimes Lundi feels like he/she would rather die than live with HIV. Do you ever feel this way?’ | 652 (90.4) | 49 (6.8) | 5 (0.7) | |
| ‘Sometimes Lundi feels like he/she is a bad person because he has HIV. Do you ever feel this way?’ | 661 (91.7) | 43 (6.0) | 2 (0.3) | |
| ‘Sometimes Lundi feels ashamed that he is HIV-positive. Do you ever feel this way?’ | 605 (83.9) | 90 (12.5) | 11 (1.5) | |
| ‘Sometimes Lundi feels that it is his/her fault that he is HIV-positive. Do you ever feel this way?’a | 644 (89.3) | 51 (7.1) | 11 (1.5) | |
| ‘Sometimes having HIV makes Lundi feels contaminated and dirty inside. Do you ever feel this way?’ | 657 (91.1) | 45 (6.2) | 4 (0.6) | |
aItem later deleted due to poor factor loading in the confirmatory factor analysis