title: Self-Stigma in Substance Abuse: Development of a New Measure.
abstract: Little attention has been paid to the examination and measurement of self-stigma in substance misuse. This paper aims to fill this gap by reporting on the development of a new scale to measure self-stigma experienced by people who are misusing substances, the Substance Abuse Self-Stigma Scale. Content validity and item refinement occurred through an iterative process involving a literature search, focus groups, and expert judges. Psychometric properties were examined in a cross-sectional study of individuals (n= 352) receiving treatment for substance misuse. Factor analyses resulted in a 40-item measure with self devaluation, fear of enacted stigma, stigma avoidance, and values disengagement subscales. The measure showed a strong factor structure and good reliability and validity overall, though the values disengagement subscale showed a mixed pattern. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for studies of stigma impact and intervention.
authors.affiliation: Portland Psychotherapy Clinic, Research, and Training Center, 1830 NE Grand Ave., Portland, OR 97211.
authors.forename: Jason B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Luoma
authors.forename: Richard H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Nobles
authors.forename: Chad E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Drake
authors.forename: Steven C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: Alyssa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: O'Hair
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.forename: Barbara S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kohlenberg
keywords: measure development; psychometric; stigma; substance misuse