ArticleBMJ open2021
COVID-19 Public Stigma Scale (COVID-PSS): development, validation, psychometric analysis and interpretation.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed.
- Social Media Messaging to Reduce HIV-Related Stigma Among Young Adults in Peru: A Randomized Controlled Study.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2026Trial
- Article
- Threat, efficacy, and the ambivalent role of COVID-19 news: an EPPM analysis of health discrimination and preventive behaviors.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Development and psychometric evaluation of the Infertility Public Stigma Scale for Japanese women: protocol for an exploratory sequential mixed method study of the Japanese population.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Observational
- Adaption and Validation of Scales to Measure COVID-19 Stigma Attitudes and Perceptions.Stigma and health · 2024Article
- Content and face validity of Workplace COVID-19 Knowledge & Stigma Scale (WoCKSS).BMC public health · 2024Article
- The design and psychometric evaluation of a COVID-19 social stigma questionnaire in nurses.BMC nursing · 2023Article
- Measuring public attitudes towards people living with chronic diseases in Arabic-speaking populations: adaptation and development of the Social Stigma Scale of Chronic Diseases (SSS-CD).BMC public health · 2023Article
- Development and Validation of Coronavirus Disease 2019-Induced Perceived Stigmatization in Physicians Scale.Alpha psychiatry · 2023Article
- The moderating role of resilience in the relationship between experiences of COVID-19 response-related discrimination and disinformation among people who inject drugs.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2023Article
- Association between self-compassion and cyber aggression in the COVID-19 context: roles of attribution and public stigma.BMC psychology · 2023Article
- Psychometric development and evaluation of a COVID-19 social stigma scale in Indonesia.PloS one · 2023Review
- Addressing stigma in infectious disease outbreaks: a crucial step in pandemic preparedness.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Transcultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the Thai-Brief Resilient Coping Scale: a cross-sectional study during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Thailand.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- The development and validation of a novel COVID19 stigma scale among healthcare workers (COVISS-HCWs).BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Psychological Resilience and Adverse Mental Health Issues in the Thai Population during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Scale of Adherence to Good Hospital Practices for COVID-19: Psychometric Properties.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Validation of a COVID-19 mental health and wellness survey questionnaire.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Age Differences in Psychological Antecedents and Behavioral Consequences of Stigmatization Associated with COVID-19 among Koreans.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveAmid the COVID-19 pandemic, social stigma towards COVID-19 infection has become a major component of public discourse and social phenomena. As such, we aimed to develop and validate the COVID-19 Public Stigma Scale (COVID-PSS). DESIGN AND
settingNational-based survey cross-sectional study during the lockdown in Thailand.
participantsWe invited the 4004 adult public to complete a set of measurement tools, including the COVID-PSS, global fear of COVID-19, perceived risk of COVID-19 infection, Bogardus Social Distance Scale, Pain Intensity Scale and Insomnia Severity Index.
methodsFactor structure dimensionality was constructed and reaffirmed with model fit by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and non-parametric item response theory (IRT) analysis. Psychometric properties for validity and reliability were tested. An anchor-based approach was performed for classifying the proper cut-off scores.
resultsAfter factor analysis, IRT analysis and test for model fit, we created the final 10-item COVID-PSS with a three-factor structure: stereotype, prejudice and fear. Face and content validity were established through the public and experts' perspectives. The COVID-PSS was significantly correlated (Spearman rank, 95% CI) with the global fear of COVID-19 (0.68, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.70), perceived risk of COVID-19 infection (0.79, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.80) and the Bogardus Social Distance Scale (0.50, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.53), indicating good convergent validity. The correlation statistics between the COVID-PSS and the Pain Intensity Scale and Insomnia Severity Index were <0.2, supporting the discriminant validity. The reliability of the COVID-PSS was satisfactory, with good internal consistency (Cronbach's α of 0.85, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.86) and test-retest reproducibility (intraclass correlation of 0.94, 95% CI 0.86 to 0.96). The proposed cut-off scores were as follows: no/minimal (≤18), moderate (19-25) and high (≥26) public stigma towards COVID-19 infection.
conclusionsThe COVID-PSS is practical and suitable for measuring stigma towards COVID-19 in a public health survey. However, cross-cultural adaptation may be needed.
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