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AIDS Behav (2008) 12:759771 DOI 10.1007/s10461-008-9363-7
ORIGINAL PAPER
Development of Parallel Scales to Measure HIV-Related Stigma
Maretha J. Visser Trace Kershaw Jennifer D. Makin Brian W. C. Forsyth
Published online: 12 February 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008
Abstract HIV-related stigma is a multidimensional concept which has pervasive effects on the lives of HIV-infected people as well as serious consequences for the management of HIV/AIDS. In this research three parallel stigma scales were developed to assess personal views of stigma, stigma attributed to others, and internalised stigma experienced by HIV-infected individuals. The stigma scales were administered in two samples: a community sample of 1,077 respondents and 317 HIV-infected pregnant women recruited at clinics from the same community in Tshwane (South Africa). A two-factor structure referring to moral judgment and interpersonal distancing was conrmed across scales and sample groups. The internal consistency of the scales was acceptable and evidence of validity is reported. Parallel scales to assess and compare different perspectives of stigma provide opportunities for research aimed at understanding stigma, assessing the consequences or evaluating possible interventions aimed at reducing stigma.
Keywords HIV-related stigma Stigma scales Quantitative measurement African context
Introduction
Since HIV/AIDS rst appeared in the 1980s, it has been associated with fear, stigmatisation, and discrimination (Parker and Aggleton 2003). There is now extensive literature reporting on the substantial and pervasive effects of HIV/AIDS-related stigma on the lives of people living with HIV and the ways in which stigma may be contributing to further expansion of the AIDS epidemic (Aggleton and Parker 2002; Bond et al. 2002; Campbell et al. 2005; Collymore 2002; Medley et al. 2004; M. D. Mokhoka 2000, unpublished dissertation; Skinner and Mfecane 2004; Tanzania Stigma-Indicators Field Test Group 2005). The literature is replete with examples of HIV-infected individuals experiencing discrimination, rejection, abandonment, emotional, or physical abuse or loss of economic support, and it has been reported that in some African communities, people appear to be more fearful of the social consequences of AIDS than of the disease itself (Lie and Biswalo 1994). Daniel and Parker (cited in Aggleton 2000) describe stigmatisation as a kind of social death in which individuals no longer feel part of society and cannot access the services and support they need. Stigma and the secrecy that...