title: Stigma against children affected by AIDS (SACAA): psychometric evaluation of a brief measurement scale.
abstract: The current study was designed to develop and evaluate a brief scale measuring perceived public stigma against children affected by HIV/AIDS. The participants include 755 children who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS (AIDS orphans), 466 children facing the potential of losing their parents to HIV/AIDS (vulnerable children), and 404 comparison children who did not have HIV-related illness or death in their families. The data in this study demonstrated that the SACAA scale provides a psychometrically sound measure of perceived stigma against children affected by AIDS in China. The SACAA scale is a reliable measure for children of both genders, at different developmental stages, and for both children affected by HIV/AIDS and comparison children. Known-group validation and correlation analysis demonstrate excellent construct validity of this brief SACAA scale. The SACAA score was positively associated with psychopathological symptoms and negatively associated with psychosocial well-being among participating children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Junfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiaoyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Guoxiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Xiuyun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Liying
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Bonita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stanton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology; D054540:Child, Orphaned / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011287:Prejudice; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D035862:Vulnerable Populations