Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND: There is concern about the stigma of mental illness, but it is difficult to measure stigma consistently. AIMS: To develop a standardised instrument to measure the stigma of mental illness. METHOD: We used qualitative data from interviews with mental health service users to develop a pilot scale with 42 items. We recruited 193 service users in order to standardise the scale. Of these, 93 were asked to complete the questionnaire twice, 2 weeks apart, of whom 60 (65%) did so. Items with a test-retest reliability kappa coefficient of 0.4 or greater were retained and subjected to common factor analysis. RESULTS: The final 28-item stigma scale has a three-factor structure: the first concerns discrimination, the second disclosure and the third potential positive aspects of mental illness. Stigma scale scores were negatively correlated with global self-esteem. CONCLUSIONS: This self-report questionnaire, which can be completed in 5-10 min, may help us understand more about the role of stigma of psychiatric illness in research and clinical settings.
Authors: Michael King, Sokratis Dinos, Jenifer Shaw, Robert Watson, Scott Stevens, Filippo Passetti, Scott Weich, Marc Serfaty
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2123149156