Background: Psoriasis is a common chronic skin condition characterized by red plaques, itching, scaling, and thickened skin. Stigma from the general public against people with psoriasis is a...Show moreBackground: Psoriasis is a common chronic skin condition characterized by red plaques, itching, scaling, and thickened skin. Stigma from the general public against people with psoriasis is a prevalent issue. Stigma in psoriasis has been studied mostly from the patient's perspective, while very little research has been done on public stigma from the perspective of the general population. There are several factors that may play a role in the stigmatization of people with psoriasis, such as knowledge, familiarity and empathy. Understanding these factors is crucial for developing effective interventions to tackle stigmatizing attitudes. Aims: the aim of this study was to explore potential factors that are related to stigmatizing attitudes from the general public towards individuals with psoriasis and to investigate how these factors were linked. Methods: This study was a sub-project of a bigger study and had a cross-sectional repeated measures within-subjects design. The sample consisted of 150 respondents from the Dutch population, with an average age of 33 years (SD = 13.1), comprising 48 men and 118 women. The respondents had to read a vignette about an encounter with a man with psoriasis after which we measured stigmatizing attitudes towards this person. The study assessed various factors related to these stigmatizing attitudes, including knowledge, familiarity, and empathy. Results: Less knowledge was associated with higher levels of stigmatizing attitudes (R² = 0.16, F(1, 149) = 29.11 , p < .001), as well as less familiarity with other people that have skin diseases (R² = 0.06, F(1, 149) = 10,04, p = .002). However, these relationships were not mediated by empathy. Discussion: This study highlights the potential significance of knowledge and familiarity in reducing stigmatizing attitudes towards people with psoriasis, suggesting the importance of interventions aimed at increasing public understanding and interactions between individuals with and without psoriasis. While empathy did not mediate the relationship between knowledge, familiarity, and stigmatizing attitudes, it is too early to conclude that empathy is irrelevant. By reviewing other studies, we found that empathy could be examined more extensively in several ways. Therefore, by considering different ways of measuring empathy, we can potentially see its role. Consequently, future research should further investigate and expand the ways in which empathy is assessed.Show less
This paper examines the effect of the arrival of Venezuelan migrants in Bogotá from 2017 onwards in relation to the perception of security of the city’s inhabitants. This study has been performed...Show moreThis paper examines the effect of the arrival of Venezuelan migrants in Bogotá from 2017 onwards in relation to the perception of security of the city’s inhabitants. This study has been performed succeeding extensive reporting of Colombian media in which Venezuelan migrants were held responsible for what had been named ‘a security crisis’. The results of this study show that the arrival of Venezuelan migrants has had a highly negative impact on the perception of security of Bogotá residents. Nevertheless, this study found that it is very unlikely, based upon official statistics, that the Venezuelan migrant population is to be held accountable for the ‘security crisis’. This study found that the security crisis, which is in essence a management crisis, is being used as an instrument by the highest political powers in order to attain personal success and slander political opponents. Venezuelan migrants are the victim of this internal power battle, exemplified by the presence of xenophobic and stigmatizing acts and tendencies present in both the political and public domain.Show less
This thesis researches to what extent Indonesian online based media create a discourse that emphasize the Chinese-Christian identity of Basuki Thjahaja Purnama (Ahok) as a minority during the...Show moreThis thesis researches to what extent Indonesian online based media create a discourse that emphasize the Chinese-Christian identity of Basuki Thjahaja Purnama (Ahok) as a minority during the Jakarta gubernatorial elections of 2017. The thesis employs a qualitative discourse analysis method that researches online articles of news portals Tempo.co, Kompas, and The Jakarta Post. To understand discourse on the Chinese-Christian identity in its proper context, first is researched what the Chinese identity means within Indonesian society by taking a historical perspective. Secondly, this thesis explores the role of religion in modern Indonesian politics as well as the political and religious context of the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial elections. News articles linked to Ahok’s blasphemy case, demonstrations against Ahok, and the elections are selected for analysis. In total 42 articles have been analyzed. The results show that there is difference in writing styles between English and Indonesian language based online news portals. Whereas the Indonesian language based news portals remain neutral to Ahok’s identity as Christian-Chinese by not referring to it, the English language based The Jakarta Post creates a narrative in which Ahok is emphasized as part of a Christian-Chinese minority.Show less
