Compensating people with AIDS: A different perspective

Undergraduates (N =187) read a newspaper editorial (Soskolne, 1994) and answered questions about compensating people with AIDS. The editorial noted that during the early years of the AIDS epidemic (1982-1985), the Canadian government received expert advice on how to prevent HIV-transmission yet failed to act on these recommendations. Although 80% of our participants agreed that the government should be held accountable for its inaction, only 45% agreed that all people who were infected with HIV from 1982 to 1985 deserve financial compensation. Gay men were considered least worthy of compensation, whereas infants and blood-product recipients were considered most worthy. Participants who supported broad-based compensation tended to be less blameful of people with AIDS who contracted HIV through homosexual contact or injection-drug use. Relatively low levels of blame were identified among older participants and those who were less authoritarian.