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Context: In 2021, French health authorities strongly promoted vaccination against COVID-19. The authors assumed that refusing this vaccine became a stigma, and they investigated potential public stigma toward unvaccinated people among the French population. Methods: A representative sample of the French adult population (N = 2,015) completed an online questionnaire in September 2021. The authors focused on participants who were already vaccinated against COVID-19 or intended to get vaccinated (N = 1,742). A cluster analysis was used to obtain contrasted attitudinal profiles, and the authors investigated associated factors with logistic regressions. Findings: Regarding attitudes toward unvaccinated people, a majority of respondents supported several pejorative statements, and a significant minority also endorsed social rejection attitudes. The authors found four contrasting attitudinal profiles: moral condemnation only (32% of respondents), full stigma (26%), no stigma (26%), and stigma rejection (16%). Early vaccination, civic motives for it, faith in science, rejection of political extremes, and being aged 65 or older were the main factors associated with stigmatizing attitudes toward unvaccinated people. Conclusions: The authors found some evidence of stigmatization toward unvaccinated people, but further research is needed, especially to investigate perceived stigmatization among them. The authors discuss their results with reference to the concept of "folk devils" and from a public health perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pain management, especially at the end of life, varies depending on the prescriber's characteristics and attitudes. Little is known about the practices of general practitioners (GPs) regarding end-of-life management for patients with cancer. Objectives: To provide an overview of the characteristics associated with GPs' attitudes and practices regarding opioids prescribing and to explore GPs' perceived role and difficulties in managing end-of-life care for patients with cancer. Design: A cross-sectional study (December 2015 to March 2016). Subjects and Analyses: Data were collected from a representative sample of 376 GPs in southeastern France recruited to participate in a survey on medical practices and opinions regarding cancer patient management. Descriptive analyses and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to study the characteristics, attitudes, and practices associated with GPs' opioids prescribing attitudes. Results: Almost 97% of GPs stated that they prescribe opioids to end-of-life cancer patients. Among these, 77% said that they prescribe opioids on their own initiative, while 23% declared doing so in coordination with a specialist team. Female GPs, GPs working in solo practices, and GPs reporting more difficulties in managing end-of-life cancer patients were significantly less likely to prescribe opioids on their own initiative. Conclusion: Our results suggest that GPs' characteristics and practices influence the prescribing attitudes at the end of life. Given the dearth of studies on this topic, further research is recommended to better understand the impact of GPs' characteristics on their prescriptive attitudes. The possible interactions between patients' and physicians' characteristics—in particular gender—should also be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Worldwide, millions of deaths each year are attributed to alcohol. We sought to examine French people's beliefs about the risks of alcohol, their correlates, and their associations with alcohol use. Methods: Data came from the 2010 Baromè tre Cancer survey, a random cross-sectional telephone survey of the French general population (n = 3359 individuals aged 15-75 years). Using principal component analysis of seven beliefs about alcohol risks, we built two scores (one assessing risk denial based on self-confidence and the other risk relativization). Two multiple linear regressions explored these scores' socio-demographic and perceived information level correlates. Multiple logistic regressions tested the associations of these scores with daily drinking and with heavy episodic drinking (HED). Results: About 60% of the respondents acknowledged that alcohol increases the risk of cancer, and 89% felt well-informed about the risks of alcohol. Beliefs that may promote risk denial were frequent (e.g. 72% agreed that soda and hamburgers are as bad as alcohol for your health). Both risk denial and risk relativization scores were higher among men, older respondents and those of low socioeconomic status. The probability of daily drinking increased with the risk relativization score and that of HED with both scores. Conclusions: Beliefs that can help people to deny the cancer risks due to alcohol use are common in France and may exist in many other countries where alcoholic beverages have been an integral part of the culture. These results can be used to redesign public information campaigns about the risks of alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In 2009–2010, the H1N1 episode occurred in a general context of decreasing public confidence in vaccination. We assumed opposition to vaccination in general to be an ‘unfounded fear’, reflecting ignorance and perceived vulnerability among low-socioeconomic status (SES) people, and opposition to the H1N1 vaccine a ‘legitimate concern’ reflecting the elite's commitment to ‘risk culture’ in a ‘risk society’. We indirectly tested these assumptions by investigating the socioeconomic profiles associated with opposition to vaccination in general and opposition to the H1N1 vaccine specifically. Our second aim was to determine whether or not opposition to the H1N1 vaccine fuelled opposition to vaccination in general. We used data from a telephone survey conducted in 2009–2010 among a random sample of French people aged 15–79 (N = 9480). Attitudes toward vaccination in general and toward the H1N1 vaccine specifically varied significantly between October 2009 and June 2010 with strong correlation being observed between these attitudes throughout the whole period. In multivariable analysis attitudes toward vaccination in general remained a significant predictor of attitudes to the H1N1 vaccine and vice versa, for distinct profiles as follows: males, older people, low-SES people for opposition to vaccination in general, versus females, people aged 35–49 and those with an intermediate SES for opposition to the H1N1 vaccine. Results also differed regarding indicators of social vulnerability, proximity to preventive medicine and vaccination history. The first profile supported the “unfounded fears expressed by low-SES people” hypothesis, while the second echoed previous work related to middle-classes’ “healthism”. Opposition to vaccination should not be reduced to irrational reactions reflecting ignorance or misinformation and further research is needed to acquire a greater understanding of the motives of opponents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aims: We present the results of a cross-sectional survey that investigates young smokers’ reactions to an increase in cigarette prices in France, and the factors associated with these reactions. Methods: This survey was carried out in 2005–2006, in South-Eastern France, among first-year university students (response rate: 71%, N = 1723). Findings: Among the 427 current daily smokers, 32% did not react to the increase, 33% reduced the cost of smoking (they purchased cigarettes in foreign countries or smuggled cigarettes, turned to a cheaper brand or to hand-rolled cigarettes) and 35% reduced their consumption or tried to quit. Daily smokers with low-educated parents were less likely to react to the price increase, as well as those with psychological distress. Students with financial difficulties were more prone to diminish the cost of smoking, while students who suffered from being apart from family were less likely to reduce their consumption. Conclusions: Further research is needed to better understand the diversity and heterogeneity of young smokers’ reaction to cigarette price increase, in relation to their socio-economic background and their motivations for smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to illustrate the relevance of Howard S. Becker's sociological model of deviance for a better understanding of contemporary adult smoking. From this perspective, one crucial aspect of smoking is smokers' ability to develop and entertain convincing rationalizations that help them to deny smoking hazards and challenge anti-tobacco messages. Several hypotheses are derived from this model and most of them are successfully tested with quantitative data from a cross-sectional survey conducted in the Paris Ile-de-France Region. As expected, most smokers agreed that smoking damages health and considered being well-informed about smoking hazards, even those who denied these hazards for themselves. Moreover, smokers' rationalizations were closely correlated to cigarette consumption and duration since smoking initiation. Paradoxically, risk denial was also stronger among smokers who have some characteristics usually considered as protective factors against smoking (especially future-orientation and importance attached to one's health). More generally, our sociological perspective leads to consider smokers' risk denial as the result of acquired cognitive skills instead of the consequences of lack of information or psychological bias. We believe it provides a promising avenue for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to investigate the effect of French mass media national prevention campaigns on attitudes and behaviours of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs), with a special emphasis on HIV-related sexual risk behaviours. In 2001, a face-to-face survey was conducted in 32 hospital departments delivering HIV care randomly selected in two French regions (Paris metropolitan area and South-Eastern France). Eligible respondents were HIV-infected outpatients aged 18 or older, and diagnosed for at least 1 year. Overall, 1386 patients were asked to participate and 900 agreed to answer the questionnaire (response rate: 64.9%). Most respondents supported national AIDS information media campaigns; some have found support from these campaigns to talk to relatives or friends about AIDS (19.7%), or to manage their sexual life (24.5%). In multivariate analysis, PLWHAs who declared that these media campaigns have helped them to manage their sexual life were more likely to report condom use in the prior 6 months (“sometimes” vs. “never”: OR?=?2.77 [95% CI?=?1.15?–?6.71]; “always” vs. “never”: 2.46 [1.14?–?5.29]). So mass media general information campaigns can play an efficient role for secondary prevention among PLWHAs and may need to be redesigned to include this goal more explicitly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Revue Française de Sociologie is the property of Presses de Sciences Po and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As Covid-19 spreads across the world, governments turn a hopeful eye towards research and development of a vaccine against this new disease. But it is one thing to make a vaccine available, and it is quite another to convince the public to take the shot, as the precedent of the 2009 H1N1 influenza illustrated. In this paper, we present the results of four online surveys conducted in April 2020 in representative samples of the French population 18 years of age and over (N = 5018). These surveys were conducted during a period when the French population was on lockdown and the daily number of deaths attributed to the virus reached its peak. We found that if a vaccine against the new coronavirus became available, almost a quarter of respondents would not use it. We also found that attitudes to this vaccine were correlated significantly with political partisanship and engagement with the political system. Attitudes towards this future vaccine did not follow the traditional mapping of political attitudes along a Left-Right axis. The rift seems to be between people who feel close to governing parties (Centre, Left and Right) on the one hand, and, on the other, people who feel close to Far-Left and Far-Right parties as well as people who do not feel close to any party. We draw on the French sociological literature on ordinary attitudes to politics to discuss our results as well as the cultural pathways via which political beliefs can affect perceptions of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. • Almost a quarter of the French population would not get vaccinated against COVID-19. • Attitudes are correlated with political partisanship and engagement with politics. • Attitudes do not follow the traditional separation between Left-wing and Right-wing. • Refusal is associated with proximity radical parties and to abstention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Adherence to sun-protection guidelines in developed countries is low, especially among people of low SES. Mechanisms underlying this social differentiation are poorly understood. This study aimed to examine the social differentiation of sun-protection behaviors and of two cognitive factors (knowledge about both sun health and behavioral risk factors for cancer) and to determine if these cognitive factors mediate the association between SES and sun-protection behaviors.Methods: Data came from the 2010 Baromètre Cancer survey (analyzed in 2014), a random cross-sectional telephone survey conducted among the French general population (n=3,359 individuals aged 15-75 years). First, bivariate associations between a composite individual SES indicator (based on education level, occupation, and income) and both sun-protection behaviors and cognitive factors were tested with chi-square tests and ANOVA. Then, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to test the mediating role of cognitive factors with a multiple mediation model including four latent variables.Results: In bivariate analyses, the individual SES indicator was positively associated with sun-protection behaviors and both cognitive factors. Multiple mediation analyses showed that both cognitive factors partially mediated the effect of individual SES on sun-protection behaviors. The overall proportion of mediated effects was 48%. The direct effect of SES remained significant.Conclusions: These results suggest that interventions aimed at modifying the knowledge and perceptions of people of low SES might help to reduce social differentiation of sun-protection behaviors. Further qualitative research is needed to better understand these cognitive factors and develop suitable prevention messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]