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Stigma Against Children Affected by AIDS (SACAA): Psychometric Evaluation of a Brief Measurement Scale

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Abstract

The current study was designed to develop and evaluate a brief scale measuring perceived public stigma against children affected by HIV/AIDS. The participants include 755 children who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS (AIDS orphans), 466 children facing the potential of losing their parents to HIV/AIDS (vulnerable children), and 404 comparison children who did not have HIV-related illness or death in their families. The data in this study demonstrated that the SACAA scale provides a psychometrically sound measure of perceived stigma against children affected by AIDS in China. The SACAA scale is a reliable measure for children of both genders, at different developmental stages, and for both children affected by HIV/AIDS and comparison children. Known-group validation and correlation analysis demonstrate excellent construct validity of this brief SACAA scale. The SACAA score was positively associated with psychopathological symptoms and negatively associated with psychosocial well-being among participating children.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Nursing Research [R01MH76488]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Mental Health or the National Institute of Nursing Research. The authors wish to thank other members of the investigation team including Douglas Barnett, Ph.D., Hongjie Liu, Ph.D., Yunfei Lv, Ph.D., Kathryn Meert, M.D. and Sylvie Naar-King, Ph.D. for their contribution in the scale development and field data collection. The authors also want to thank Joanne Zwemer for assistance with manuscript preparation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, China

    Junfeng Zhao, Xiaoming Li & Guoxiang Zhao

  2. The Carman and Ann Adams Department of Pediatrics Prevention Research Center, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 4707 St. Antoine, Suite W534, Detroit, MI, 48201-2196, USA

    Xiaoming Li, Liying Zhang & Bonita Stanton

  3. School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

    Xiaoyi Fang & Xiuyun Lin

  4. Department of Social and Behavioral Health, Texas A&M Health Science Center, College Station, TX, USA

    Yan Hong

Authors
  1. Junfeng Zhao
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  2. Xiaoming Li
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  3. Xiaoyi Fang
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  4. Yan Hong
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  5. Guoxiang Zhao
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  7. Liying Zhang
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  8. Bonita Stanton
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaoming Li.

Appendix: SACAA Scale

Appendix: SACAA Scale

Instruction: The following are possible attitudes towards children of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA); please indicate that in your opinion how many people in the society would have such attitudes: (Response option: 4 = most people, 3 = some people, 2 = few people, and, 1 = none).

  1. 1.

    People think children of PLWHA should leave their villages

  2. 2.

    People do not think children of PLWHA deserve sympathy

  3. 3.

    People think children of PLWHA should quit school or never go to school

  4. 4.

    People are unwilling to take care of children of PLWHA

  5. 5.

    People think children of PLWHA should only live with children of PLWHA

  6. 6.

    People do not want their children to play with children of PLWHA

  7. 7.

    People think children of PLWHA should only play with children of PLWHA

  8. 8.

    People think children of PLWHA are unclean

  9. 9.

    People think children of PLWHA may have disease

  10. 10.

    People do not think children of PLWHA can be as good as other children

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Zhao, J., Li, X., Fang, X. et al. Stigma Against Children Affected by AIDS (SACAA): Psychometric Evaluation of a Brief Measurement Scale. AIDS Behav 14, 1302–1312 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-009-9629-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-009-9629-8

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