Funding Source and Period: HIV Center Pilot Studies Program; 2007-2008

Key HIV Center Personnel:

HIV Center Fellow: Katherine Elkington, Ph.D.
Mentor: Milton Wainberg, M.D.

Project Overview
(from abstract of research plan)

Adolescents with mental illness (MI) are at substantial risk for acquiring HIV, yet there are few published, efficacious interventions for these youth. The nature of link between MI and high rates of HIV risk behaviors among adolescents is not well understood. As in adults with MI, one mechanism that may increase HIV risk is the stigma associated with MI. However, there are no studies that examine the experience of stigma among adolescents with MI or the effect of stigma on sexual risk behaviors. Further, there are no instruments to measure stigma for this population. Guided by the Link and Phelan's model of stigmatization, the aims of this study are to 1) examine qualitatively the subjective experiences of stigma among adolescents with MI; 2) elicit the participants' attributions about the effect of stigma on their interpersonal, romantic or sexual relationships; and 3) generate an item pool to be used in the future development of a quantitative measure of stigma for adolescents. The study sample will be 40 adolescents, aged 12-21, in psychiatric treatment who will receive in-depth interviews about their subjective experiences of stigma. This study is an important first step toward developing a future measure of stigma for adolescents with MI and toward a greater understanding the relationships between stigma, mental illness and sexual risk behaviors. Adolescence is also a critical period for intervention with stigma. Gathering data on the experience of stigma can contribute to the prevention of the effects of stigma that are so profoundly felt in adulthood.