The Stigma Scale: development of a standardised measure of the stigma of mental illness.
BACKGROUND
There is concern about the stigma of mental illness, but it is difficult to measure stigma consistently.


OBJECTIVE
To develop a standardised instrument to measure the stigma of mental illness.


METHODS
We used qualitative data from interviews with mental health service users to develop a pilot scale with 42 items. We recruited 193 service users in order to standardise the scale. Of these, 93 were asked to complete the questionnaire twice, 2 weeks apart, of whom 60 (65%) did so. Items with a test-retest reliability kappa coefficient of 0.4 or greater were retained and subjected to common factor analysis.


RESULTS
The final 28-item stigma scale has a three-factor structure: the first concerns discrimination, the second disclosure and the third potential positive aspects of mental illness. Stigma scale scores were negatively correlated with global self-esteem.


CONCLUSIONS
This self-report questionnaire, which can be completed in 5-10 min, may help us understand more about the role of stigma of psychiatric illness in research and clinical settings.
King
Michael
M
Department of Mental Health Sciences, Royal Free and University College Medical School, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 4QP, UK. m.king@medsch.ucl.ac.uk
Dinos
Sokratis
S
Shaw
Jenifer
J
Watson
Robert
R
Stevens
Scott
S
Passetti
Filippo
F
Weich
Scott
S
Serfaty
Marc
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological / Q000592:standards; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012649:Self Concept; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*