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AbstractIn children, behavioral inhibition is characterized by a disposition to withdraw in the presence of strangers and novel situations. Later in life, behavioral inhibition can result in an increased risk for anxiety and depression and a decrease in social behavior. We selected rhesus monkeys that, during infancy, showed evidence of behavioral inhibition in response to separation, and contrasted them with non‐inhibited peers. To understand the development of behavioral inhibition at juvenile age, we collected behavioral data in response to relocation; in response to a human intruder challenge; and in naturalistic outdoor field corrals. At 4 years of age (young adulthood), we again collected behavioral data in the outdoor field corrals to understand the adult social consequences of behavioral inhibition. We also included sex, dominance rank, and number of available kin in our analyses. Finally, to understand the consistency in behavior in behaviorally inhibited animals, we conducted exploratory analyses contrasting behaviorally inhibited animals that showed high vs. low durations of non‐social behaviors as adults. At juvenile age, behaviorally inhibited animals continued to show behavioral differences in the novel testing room and during the human intruder challenge, generally showing evidence of greater anxiety and emotionality compared to non‐inhibited controls. In their outdoor corrals, behaviorally inhibited juveniles spent more time alone and less time in proximity and grooming with mother and other adult females. In young adulthood, we found that behavioral inhibition was not related to time spent alone. We did find that duration of time alone in adulthood was related to time alone exhibited as juveniles; sex, dominance rank, or the number of kin were not influential in adult non‐social duration, either as main effects or as moderators. Finally, exploratory analyses revealed that behaviorally inhibited females that were more sociable (less time spent alone) as adults had spent more time grooming as juveniles, suggesting that high‐quality social interaction at a young age might mitigate the social consequences of behavioral inhibition. Overall, we believe that the many similarities with the human data that we found suggest that this monkey model of naturally occurring behavioral inhibition can be valuable for understanding social development.

Research has indicated that stigmatizing AIDS attitudes are associated with negative attitudes toward gay men. Because injecting drug users (IDUs) are also stigmatized and injecting drug use is an important exposure category for HIV infection, the authors hypothesized that AIDS stigma might also be related to attitudes toward IDUs and that the proportionately higher level of HIV transmission related to injecting drug use in the African American community would produce different patterns of stigma between Blacks and Whites. National probability samples of U.S. adults were interviewed by telephone. Respondents with more negative attitudes toward IDUs held more stigmatizing AIDS attitudes. Among Blacks, such attitudes explained more variance than did attitudes toward gay men, a pattern opposite to that found among Whites. Moreover, knowing someone who injected illegal drugs was associated with less AIDS stigma for Blacks, but not for Whites. The results suggest that Blacks' and Whites' attitudes toward people with AIDS are informed by their different experiences of the AIDS epidemic.

This article presents national survey data to assess the extent to which AIDS-related stigma remains linked to public attitudes toward homosexuality in the United States. Most heterosexuals continue to associate AIDS primarily with homosexuality or bisexuality, and this association is correlated with higher levels of sexual prejudice (antigay attitudes). Although all people who contract AIDS sexually are assigned blame for their infection, such blame is greater for a gay or bisexual man than for a heterosexual man or woman. A sizable minority of the public equates all male-male sexual behavior with AIDS, even sex between two HIV-negative men. A substantial portion also expresses discomfort about touching an article of clothing or drinking from a sterilized glass used by a person with AIDS (PWA). These misconceptions and discomfort are correlated with sexual prejudice. It is argued that the link between AIDS attitudes and sexual prejudice impedes HIV prevention efforts and threatens civil rights.