Development of a Brief Scale to Measure AIDS-Related Stigma in South Africa

Abstract

Although there has been progress in AIDS stigma research, there are no multi-item AIDS stigma scales that have been shown reliable and valid in Africa. The current research reports the development of the nine-item AIDS-Related Stigma Scale. Research conducted in five South African communities (N = 2306) found the scale internally consistent, alpha = 0.75 and time stable over 3 months, r = 0.67. The scale was also reliable in three different languages (English, Xhosa, and Afrikaans). Correlations showed that the AIDS-Related Stigma Scale was moderately inversely correlated with years of education and AIDS knowledge. In addition, individuals who stated that HIV positive persons should conceal their HIV status had higher AIDS-Related Stigma Scale scores. Also supporting the scale's construct validity, individuals who refused to report whether they had been tested for HIV scored higher on the AIDS-Related Stigma Scale.

Predicting Hypothetical Willingness to Participate (WTP) in a Future Phase III HIV Vaccine Trial Among High-Risk Adolescents

“…In the present study, no significant relationship was found between Attitudes toward HIV/AIDS and WTP in a future HIV vaccine trial among adolescents in the \Vestern Cape. A possible reason for this null finding is that the AIDS-related Stigma Scale (Kalichman et al, 2005) used in the present study was not reliable in the adolescent sample. The guidelines offered by Nunally (1978) suggest that a reliability of 0.70 or higher is acceptable for scales used in beginning research.…”

“…The Internal consistency analysis of the AIDS-related Stigma Scale (Kalichman et al, 2005) revealed a Cronbach alpha reliability of a = 0.49. After deleting two items, the internal consistency improved (a =0 .60).…”

“…To measure participants' attitude towards HIV/AIDS, the AIDS-related Stigma Scale developed by Kalichman et al (2005) was used (see Appendix D). The scale consisted of nine items (with a two-option response format consisting of "I agree" and "I disagree").…”

Results of Social Surveys to Identify Forms of Stigma and Discrimination of People Living With Hiv in Tajikistan

“…Стигматизирующее отношение приводит к отрицанию риска и снижению вероятности принятия норм поведения, предотвращающих инфициро-вание [17,18]. Страх перед стигмой [15,19] и стигматизи-рующие убеждения -которые закрепляют представление о том, что ВИЧ поражает только других людей -удерживают людей от прохождения тестирования на ВИЧ [19] в самых разных обстоятельствах.…”

Psychosocial and behavioural correlates of attitudes towards antiretroviral therapy (ART) in a sample of South African mineworkers

“…Items used in this short scale were derived from Kalichman et al (2005) and Bhagwanjee (2008). (Bhagwanjee, 2008).…”