Reacting to AIDS-Related Suicide: Does Time Since Diagnosis Matter?

296 undergraduates read a vignette about Pat, who had been diagnosed as having AIDS or terminal cancer for 1 week, 1 month, 6 months, or 1 year & then completed the Prejudicial Evaluation Scale & the Social Interaction Scale. Subjects then read that Pat committed suicide & completed the Youth Suicide Scale & the Suicide Semantic Differential Scale. Analysis showed that Pat received more stigma when the diagnosis was AIDS rather than cancer, regardless of how long Pat had been diagnosed.