Development of an 18‐item abbreviated Chinese version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale.

Aim: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) stigma in people living with HIV is associated with depression and poor treatment adherence. The current literature lacks a Chinese instrument to measure HIV stigma in Taiwan. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop an abbreviated Chinese translation version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale. Methods: The instrument development process was guided by Brislin's Translation Model of establishment of construct validity and convergent validity and verification of reliability. Results: This study recruited 540 HIV‐infected adults (January‐November 2015). Data analysis using confirmatory factor analysis resulted in an 18‐item abbreviated Chinese version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale, consisting with four factors: personalized stigma (seven items), disclosure concerns (three items), negative self‐image (four items), and concerns with public attitudes toward people with HIV (four items). The final model demonstrated a good fit. A positive correlation between HIV stigma and depression was found. The Cronbach α for internal consistency was 0.92. Conclusion: The 18‐item abbreviated Chinese version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale demonstrated adequate reliability and validity to assess HIV stigma among Chinese people living with HIV. It is a feasible tool that allows for rapid assessment of HIV‐related stigma. SUMMARY STATEMENT: What is already known about the topic? People living with HIV experience challenges including unemployment, unavailability of rental housing, isolation, and alienation by friends and families. Prolonged experience of stigma may result in poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy.Berger's HIV Stigma Scale is a commonly used, valid instrument to measure HIV‐related stigma in people living with HIV. What this paper adds? In Taiwan, there is a lack of self‐report instrument to assess HIV‐related stigma in people living with HIV. Therefore, the authors developed an abbreviated Chinese version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale for Chinese people living with HIV and established the psychometric properties.This study used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to verify effectiveness and test construct validity of the 18‐item abbreviated Chinese version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale.This study revised Berger's 40‐item HIV Stigma Scale to an abbreviated 18‐item abbreviated Chinese version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale to increase validity and to allow for rapid and effective assessment of HIV‐related stigma in people living with HIV. The implications of this paper: The 18‐item abbreviated Chinese version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale has adequate reliability and validity to be used for Chinese people living with HIV.The 18‐item abbreviated Chinese version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale is a feasible tool that allows for rapid assessment of HIV‐related stigma in Chinese people living with HIV.The 18‐item abbreviated Chinese version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale assists clinicians to explore HIV‐related stigma in Chinese people living with HIV and to evaluate effectiveness of interventions in reducing the stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]