Stigmatizing Attitudes Toward People Living with HIV Among Adults and Adolescents in the United States

Stigmatizing attitudes toward people living with HIV (PLWH) cause psychological distress for PLWH and hinder HIV prevention efforts. We estimated the prevalence of stigmatizing attitudes among 6809 adults and 885 adolescents who responded to online surveys in 2015. Fear of casual contact with PLWH was reported by 17.5% [95% confidence interval (CI) 16.3–18.6%] of adults and 31.6% (CI 27.8–35.4%) of adolescents. Among adults, 12.5% (CI 11.6–13.5%) endorsed a measure of moral judgment toward PLWH. Stigmatizing attitudes toward PLWH persist in the United States. Continued monitoring of these attitudes and efforts to reduce associated stigma are warranted.