An investigation of Information Exposure and Social Stigmatisation among students in the Netherlands

This paper investigated the social stigmatisation of HIV/AIDS and how this related to the information exposure of HIV/AIDS among students currently studying in the Netherlands within higher educational institutions. The study also took into account the group comparisons between Caucasian-Dutch and Asian-Dutch students which served as a unique study since this provided societal relevance for the overall population as well as on the cultural differences within a single population, namely; Dutch and North-Eastern Asian. In addition to cultural differences, gender differences between and within both sample groups were also investigated. The results of the study provided insight to the social implications of both local Dutch and Asian-Dutch students and differences in the way each group perceives risk in terms of HIV/AIDS and how this relates to the information they are exposed to. Additionally, only looking at how people are exposed to information through the use of media was not enough, thus, linking information exposure to the social stigma of HIV/AIDS added value to the overall research, given that information shapes the perception a person has on a given topic. Using a quantitative approach, this study conducted online surveys (N=298) and utilised quota sampling methods in order to reach the specific target group for the study. Based on the results of the research question and sub-research questions, the conclusion was made that information exposure positively relates to the social stigmatisation of HIV/AIDS among students in higher educational institutions in the Netherlands. The degree to which Caucasian-Dutch and Asian-Dutch students differ in their social stigmatisation of HIV/AIDS did not differ indicating that the ways they think about HIV/AIDS remain relatively the same. Information exposure differed on certain levels, however, overall did not differ significantly among both groups. Gender differences among and within these two groups did not differ but could not specifically be pointed out as to why this was the case. Possible reasons may lie within the design of the questionnaire. Recommendations based on the results suggest that shifting the focus of the study towards more differentiated groups may have been more ideal in analysing differences within a population.