Title

Extending the Use of the 40-Item HIV-Stigma Scale to Older Adults: An Examination of Reliability and Validity

Publication Date

8-16-2007

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This paper explores the potential for extending the use of a 40-item stigma scale, developed by Berger and colleagues, to older adults with HIV/AIDS. The increase in the numbers of adults living into older age with HIV, along with new infections in those 50+, makes this issue relevant. A sample of 25 older adults completed the stigma scale, and all answered a semi-structured question about how they felt the scale captured their experiences of stigma. The sample ranged in age from 50 to 72 years (M = 56.1 å± 5.75); 38% were female, and 40% were people of color. The stigma scale and its 4 subscales showed excellent internal consistency ranging from ë± = .92 to .96. The scale was found to have good convergent validity with the CES-D depression scale. Sixty-four percent of the respondents felt the scale did a good job capturing their experiences of stigma as older persons living with HIV/AIDS or offered no suggestions for improvement. The scale was found to be reliable and valid for measuring HIV-stigma in the original study and appears to maintain its integrity in a sample of older HIV-infected adults.

Publication Title

Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services

Volume

6

Issue

3

First Page

43

Last Page

54

DOI

10.1300/J187v06n03_04

Publisher Policy

pre-print, post-print

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