HIV Representations, Attitudes Toward People Living With HIV, and Responsibility Attribution: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Undergraduate Students of Primary Education in Greece

This study explores the intersections between HIV representations, attitudes, responsibility attribution, and ingroup/outgroup membership, as well as their relationship with participants’ sociodemographic characteristics. A gender-balanced sample of 240 undergraduate students of Primary Education in Greece read vignettes depicting HIV through heterosexual contact, involving either a native or foreign individual of either gender. Participants completed questionnaires assessing their HIV representations, attitudes toward the scenario-dependent character, and sociodemographic details. Through factor analysis, four key factors emerged: the contagionist approach, the associative sexual stigma approach, the moralistic-isolationist approach, and the transmissible approach. Sociodemographic variables such as gender, age, and religiosity significantly influenced these representations. Males viewed HIV as more contagious than females, while older participants showed less belief in HIV transmission through stigmatized groups. Religious participants tended to view HIV as a severe condition and associated it with punishment, while non-religious participants exhibited greater acceptance of people living with HIV (PLHIV). Gendered differences were also observed regarding risk perception and attitudes toward PLHIV, with male participants indicating greater personal vulnerability and more stigmatizing attitudes than females. These findings offer valuable insights into how HIV representations and attitudes can be shaped by both individual beliefs and broader cultural influences.