Assessing the stigma toward chronic carriers of hepatitis B virus: Development and validation of a Chinese college students' stigma scale

According to rigorous guidelines of instrument development, a 17-item chronic carriers of hepatitis B virus-related stigma scale (HBV-SS) in college students, including 4 domains (labeling, stereotype, separating, discrimination), was developed with data from 717 college students in China. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of HBV-SS was .85. Four common factors were extracted in accordance with the conceptual model. Students with HBsAg positive/ever-positive (vs. negative), with HBsAg ever-positive (vs. never positive/did not know), and students who had any family member, friend, or acquaintance as a chronic carrier of HBV (vs. had not/did not know) had significantly lower scores. Research has shown that the scale is reliable, valid, and sensitive and is recommended for application of HBV-SS to assist public health practice.