Evaluation of the psychometrics of the Social Impact Scale: a measure of stigmatization

Abstract

As stigmatization has a large impact on patients, therapists need a measure of this impact to provide patients with adequate services. This study, therefore, examined the reliability and validity of the Social Impact Scale (SIS) when applied to three groups of individuals diagnosed with major depression, schizophrenia, or HIV/AIDS. The study sample (N=580) included 237 patients with depressive disorder, 119 with schizophrenia, and 224 with HIV/AIDS. Of these, 56% were men, 45.5% had an elementary school education or less, 48% were employed, and 56% were single. The Rasch measurement model, an item-response theory, was used to analyze the SIS structure and quality. The Rasch model solves several statistical problems of traditional measurement theory, such as misuse of ordinal data as interval data and sample dependence. Rasch analysis indicated that the 24 items of the SIS fit the measurement model. The match between item difficulties and person abilities was adequate. All items showed acceptable rating scale structure. The separation reliability of the scale reached 0.99. The SIS had acceptable psychometric qualities in terms of internal consistency, item validity, person validity, sensitivity, and concurrent validity when applied to patients with depression, schizophrenia, and HIV/AIDS in Taiwan.

Depression in lung cancer patients: the role of perceived stigma

“…This 24‐item measure yields a total score as well as subscale scores for respondent's perceptions about the extent they believe they are experiencing social rejection, financial insecurity, internalized shame, and social isolation as a result of their illness. The validity of this scale has been demonstrated in previous studies with HIV‐positive patients as well as cancer patients [32, 33]. The SIS total scale demonstrated good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.95) in the current study, as did the SIS subscales (Cronbach's α⩾0.81).…”

Stigma and its influencing factors among Chinese patients with stoma

“…The SIS was developed by Fife and Wright in 2000 and was translated into Chinese by Pan et al in 2007. It was originally used to examine stigma among patients with HIV/AIDS and cancer.…”

“…The SSES was developed by Heatherton and Polivy to assess short‐term self‐esteem and was translated into Chinese by Chung et al in 1998. This scale includes 20 items, and the items are rated on a 5‐point Likert scale.…”

Beyond Assessment of Quality of Life in Schizophrenia

“…For example, the NIH-sponsored Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) project relies primarily on modern psychometric methods . Similarly, modern psychometric analyses have started to be adopted for analysis of patient-reported HRQOL measures for patients with schizophrenia (D'haenen 1996 ; Pan et al 2007 ;Boyer et al 2010 ;Reise et al 2011a ;Laurens et al 2012 ;Mojtabai et al 2012 ;Chen et al 2013 ;Michel et al 2013 ;Galindo-Garre et al 2015 ;Norholm and Bech 2006 ). The present chapter provides an introduction to modern psychometric methods and discusses their potential use for analyses of HRQOL data from patients with schizophrenia.…”