Reliability and validity of a Chinese version of the Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness (SSCI) in patients with stroke

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness (SSCI) in patients with stroke. Methods In total, 220 patients with stroke were recruited to complete the scale. The reliability of the SSCI was evaluated using internal consistency and test-retest methods. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to identify domains of the SSCI. Convergent validity was determined by analyzing the correlation between SSCI scores, activities of daily living (ADL) and depression. Results Construct validity was determined by factor analysis, extracting three factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, explaining 30.5%, 25.7%, and 8.5% of the variance, respectively, and accounting for 64.8% of the variance. All items had factor loadings above 0.40. The first factor comprised questions related to 'self-stigma' (items 1-13). The second (items 14-22) and third (items 23-24) factors aggregated questions related to 'enacted stigma'. In terms of convergent validity, the SSCI total scale was moderately correlated to the Barthel Index (BI) and the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). Cronbach's alpha value (internal reliability) for the total SSCI score was 0.949, and the intraclass correlation coefficient value (test-retest reliability) was 0.802. Discussion The results provide initial evidence that the SSCI is a reliable and validated measure for evaluating stigma in stroke patients in China.