AIDS - SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTIONS OF ILLNESS AND THEIR SOCIAL-CONSEQUENCES

Our thesis-exemplified in the case of AIDS-is that a subjective view of reality which we term as "everyday knowledge" or "everyday theories", seems often to be more relevant for behavior than objective knowledge based on expert-information. The investigation of this phenomenon is important since different ways of perceiving and interpreting reality have different consequences. In a representative sample (ADM-Design) in Summer 1990 we asked about 2000 adults in the Federal Republic of Germany questions concerning the perceived infectiuosness of AIDS, thea etiology of the illness, the intended ways of how to deal with those people who are infected and the readiness to support compulsory governmental measures. Results show that-in accordance with out thesis-the willingness to segregate infected or ill persons is a function of individuals' interpretation of the disease. The more AIDS is regarded as a highly infectious disease and connected with attributions of fault the higher is the share of those persons who favor segregation. The willingness to accept governmental coercive measures is dependent on the subjective perception of infectious risks and on the inclination to regard AIDS as a consequence of fault.