Senior Rebecca Shannon is conducting research to investigate stigma in relation to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). She is interested in looking at how age, sexuality, knowledge of HIV/AIDS, and diagnosis mediate HIV/AIDS stigma for both PLWHA and those who do not have HIV/AIDS (non-PLWHA). Increasing knowledge is the traditional approach to decreasing stigma and she is trying to ascertain what other variables are at play in stigmatic attitudes. For her research, she surveyed PLWHA and non-PLWHA nationwide as well as some Roanoke College students. After analyzing the data, she presented her findings at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). Wonderful work!
