Development of an 18‐item abbreviated Chinese version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Aim</jats:title><jats:p>Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) stigma in people living with HIV is associated with depression and poor treatment adherence. The current literature lacks a Chinese instrument to measure HIV stigma in Taiwan. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop an abbreviated Chinese translation version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>The instrument development process was guided by Brislin's Translation Model of establishment of construct validity and convergent validity and verification of reliability.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>This study recruited 540 HIV‐infected adults (January‐November 2015). Data analysis using confirmatory factor analysis resulted in an 18‐item abbreviated Chinese version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale, consisting with four factors: personalized stigma (seven items), disclosure concerns (three items), negative self‐image (four items), and concerns with public attitudes toward people with HIV (four items). The final model demonstrated a good fit. A positive correlation between HIV stigma and depression was found. The Cronbach <jats:italic>α</jats:italic> for internal consistency was 0.92.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title><jats:p>The 18‐item abbreviated Chinese version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale demonstrated adequate reliability and validity to assess HIV stigma among Chinese people living with HIV. It is a feasible tool that allows for rapid assessment of HIV‐related stigma.</jats:p></jats:sec>