title: Development and initial testing of a measure of public and self-stigma in the military.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This research developed and tested the Military Stigma Scale (MSS), a 26-item scale, designed to measure public and self-stigma, two theorized core components of mental health stigma.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample comprised 1,038 active duty soldiers recruited from a large Army installation. Soldiers' mean age was 26.7 (standard deviation = 5.9) years, and 93.6% were male. The sample was randomly split into a scale development group (n = 520) and a confirmatory group (n = 518).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Factor analysis conducted with the scale development group resulted in the adoption of two factors, named public and self-stigma, accounting for 52.1% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis conducted with the confirmatory group indicated good fit for the two-factor model. Both factors were components of a higher order stigma factor. The public and self-stigma scales for the exploratory and confirmatory groups demonstrated good internal consistency (α = .94 and .89; α = .95 and .87, respectively). Demographic differences in stigma were consistent with theory and previous empirical research: Soldiers who had seen a mental health provider scored lower in self-stigma than those who had not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MSS comprises two internally consistent dimensions that appear to capture the constructs of public and self-stigma. The overall results indicate that public and self-stigma are dimensions of stigma that are relevant to active duty soldiers and suggest the need to assess these dimensions in future military stigma research.
authors: Department of Defense, National Center for Telehealth & Technology, Research, Outcomes, Surveillance, and Evaluation Division, Tacoma, WA 98431, USA. nancy.skopp@us.army.mil
authors: Nancy A
authors: NA
authors: Skopp
authors: Nigel E
authors: NE
authors: Bush
authors: David L
authors: DL
authors: Vogel
authors: Nathaniel G
authors: NG
authors: Wade
authors: Anton P
authors: AP
authors: Sirotin
authors: Russell A
authors: RA
authors: McCann
authors: Melinda J
authors: MJ
authors: Metzger-Abamukong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012649:Self Concept; D057545:Social Stigma; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States