The Reliability and Validity of The Turkish Form of Berger HIV Stigma Scale

Objective: HIV-related stigma towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) creates a barrier in access to quality health care, affects mental health and leads to poor treatment adherence. Assessment of different components of HIV-related stigma is needed to develop appropriate strategies for prevention and intervention. The aim of this study was to translate and adapt Berger HIV Stigma Scale to Turkish and assess its reliability and validity. Method: The Turkish version of the 40 item, 4-point Likert-type self-report HIV Stigma Scale, as well as Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and sociodemographic data form were administered to 95 PLWHA. Results: The items of the scale whose face validity was found to be sufficient, were loaded on four factors in the explanatory factor analysis: Internalised Stigmatization (16 items); Concerns with Public Attitudes (12 items); Negative Self Image (9 items); and Disclosure Concerns (8 items). This structure explained 46.71% of the variance after an item was removed based on the analysis. All subscales had acceptable internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha coefficients .802-.934. BDE scores had moderate positive correlations with Internalized Stigmatization; Concerns with Public Attitudes; Disclosure Concerns subscale scores (r(s)=0.214, p=0.047; r(s)=0.295, p=0.006; r(s)=0.353, p=0.001), and strong positive correlations with Negative Self Image score (r(s)=0.617, p<0.001). A moderate positive correlation was found between RSES and Negative Self Image subscale score (r(s)=0.434; p<0.001). Conclusion: Our findings showed that the Turkish form of Berger HIV Stigma Scale is a reliable and valid tool for measuring HIV-related stigma in PLWHA.