Reinus et al reported a shortened version of the HIV Stigma Scale. This is a more convenient way to evaluate an HIV-positive patient for stigma. The authors are from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
Patient selection: HIV-positive
Total number of items: 12
Subscales:
(1) personalized stigma
(2) disclosure concerns
(3) concerns about public attitudes
(4) negative self-image
Personalized stigma:
(1) people have stopped calling
(2) have lost friends after they found out HIV status
(3) people avoid touching
Disclosure concerns:
(1) work hard to keep HIV status a secret
(2) telling someone about HIV status is risky
(3) very careful about who is told about HIV status
Concerns about public attitudes:
(1) people's belief that a person with HIV is dirty
(2) a person is treated as an outcast
(3) people are uncomfortable around someone with HIV
Negative self-image:
(1) guilt for having HIV
(2) feel worse about self because of people's attitudes about HIV
(3) feel not as good as others because of HIV
|
Response
|
Points
|
|
strongly disagree
|
1
|
|
disagree
|
2
|
|
agree
|
3
|
|
strongly agree
|
4
|
score for a subscale =
= SUM(points for all 3 subscale items)
total score =
= SUM(all 4 subscales)
Interpretation:
• minimum score for a subscale: 3
• minimum total score: 12
• maximum subscale: 12
• maximum total score: 48
• The higher the score the greater the sense of stigma.
