Development and Preliminary Validation of the Couples’ Stigma Scale to Assess Self-Stigma among the Partners of Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Japan

Abstract

Spouses of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may struggle with self-stigma and may require attention and care; however, no scale exists to measure the stigma of spouses of persons with ASD. This study created and investigated the construct validity of the Couples Stigma Scale. This scale consists of 14 items and it was designed based on prior literature, interviews, and the self-stigma theory to assess the self-stigma experienced by spouses of people with ASD. A survey was conducted with spouses of persons with ASD who participated in a self-help group. Responses were obtained from 259 people, of which 253 women were included in the analysis. Exploratory factor analysis was performed separately with two independent groups, indicating a four-factor structure, to determine structural validity. The factor loadings of the items constituting the four factors were 0.39 or greater. Regarding external validity, the correlation coefficient between the Couples Stigma Scale and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) score was −0.341 (p < 0.001), and the domain correlation coefficient was significant for all relevant WHOQOL domains. Our results suggest that the Japanese version of the Couples Stigma Scale is a valid instrument for assessing self-stigma in the spouses of persons with ASD.

Editors’ Comments on the Special Issue “Social Determinants of Mental Health”

“…Finally, three studies focused on three specific issues for people with mental disorders: stigma, suicidality, and drug misuse. The former study focused on developing an instrument to assess self-stigma among partners of persons with autism spectrum disorder in Japan, thus contributing to the self-stigma theory in the case of mental health patient partners [ 28 ]. The second study carried out a systematic review on suicide risk with a meta-analysis focused on the European population [ 17 ].…”

The Potential Benefits of Dance Movement Therapy in Improving Couple Relations of Individuals Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder—A Review

“…Women married to partners with ASD describe their subjective experience of struggling and loneliness, which all-too-often lead to crises after marriage (Deguchi and Asakura, 2018 ), and the most problematic areas involve issues of affective communication, problem-solving communication, and quarreling (Roy and Dillo, 2017 ). Another complexity entailed in these relationships relates to the existence of social stigmas that partners may experience (Naoko et al, 2020 ).…”