AIDS Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about AIDS, including details on testing, treatment, prevention, hiv, life expectancy.

Development of a brief scale to measure AIDS-related stigma in South Africa.

Kalichman SC, Simbayi LC, Jooste S, Toefy Y, Cain D, Cherry C, Kagee A

Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, 06269, USA. seth.k@uconn.edu

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.

Published 3 June 2005 in AIDS Behav, 9(2): 135-43.
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