Dr. YUEN Wing Yan, WinnieWinnieDr. YUEN Wing YanProf. TANG So Kum, CatherineCatherineProf. TANG So KumHo, Roger Chun-manRoger Chun-manHo2021-11-292021-11-292010Yuen, W., Tang, S. K., & Chun, R. (11-16 Jul 2010). Assessing stigma among psychiatric patients in Singapore – Psychometric evaluation of King’s Stigma Scale. 27th International Congress of Applied Psychology, Melbourne, Australia.http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11861/6789https://eprints.qut.edu.au/75658/1/icap2010.pdfPrevious research has documented individuals with mental illness internalized the negative attitudes held by the public, which may have detrimental effects on their psychological wellbeing and social life. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Stigma Scale developed by King et al. (2007) in order to understand stigma in Chinese communities in Singapore. It also investigated whether the stigma level varied among individuals with bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia. 110 service users of a hospital in Singapore with bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder or schizophrenia were recruited. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted with the King’s Stigma Scale to understand its factor structure. Concurrent validity of the scale was examined by its correlations with scores of the Rosenberg Selfesteem Scale and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s α and a subgroup of participants completed the questionnaire twice, two weeks apart. ANOVAs were conducted to compare the overall stigma level among the three groups of psychiatric patients. Principal component factor analysis yielded three dimensions (discrimination, disclosure, positive aspect) of King’s Stigma Scale, with factor loadings ranging from 0.30–0.81. The Stigma Scale scores were negatively correlated with the Self-esteem Scale (Pearson’s r =-0.45, p<0.01) and positively correlated with GHQ-12 (Pearson’s r=0.59, p<0.01). The overall reliability Cronbach’s α was 0.84 (subscales ranged from 0.54–0.79) and the Pearson’s correlation for test-retest reliability was 0.696 (p<0.01). ANOVA showed that the scores on overall stigma scale (F2,109=6.29, p<0.05), disclosure subscale (F2,109=6.40, p<0.05) and positive aspect subscale (F2,109=6.83, p<0.05) were significantly different among mental illness labels. Post-hoc Tukey test found that individuals with MDD and schizophrenia scored significantly higher on the disclosure subscale than bipolar disorder group. Individuals with MDD also scored higher on positive aspect subscale than individuals with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. This study provided preliminary empirical evidence supporting validity and reliability of King’s stigma scale to understand the stigma level among individuals with bipolar disorder, MDD and schizophrenia. The stigma level was found to be different among mental illness labels.enStigmaSingaporePsychiatric PatientsConference Paper