title: The Stigma Scale: development of a standardised measure of the stigma of mental illness.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: 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
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Sokratis
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dinos
authors.forename: Jenifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Passetti
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weich
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Serfaty
mesh_terms: 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*