Development of the Chinese Version of the Physician Internalized Occupational Stigma Scale (PIOSS)

Internalized occupational stigma may develop in physicians as a result of their identification with the public negative labels and stereotypes about them, and then internalization of them as a part of their self-concept. This study aims to develop the Physician Internalized Occupational Stigma Scale (PIOSS) and to examine its reliability and validity.

In study 1, the initial scale was used to investigate 356 physicians. While in study 2, a total of 346 physicians were investigated with the survey tools named the PIOSS, the Career Commitment Scale (CCS), the Workplace Well-Being Scale (WWBS), the Scale for the Doctor with Patient-doctor Relationship (DDPRQ-10), the Intent to Leave Scale (ILS) and the Occupational Disidentification Scale (ODS).

The PIOSS includes 19 items divided into 3 dimensions: label identification, status loss, and career denial. The results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) reveal that the three-factor model fitted well (χ ²/df=2.574, RMSEA= 0.068, CFI= 0.931, IFI= 0.931, TLI= 0.919, PNFI= 0.762, PCFI= 0.795). The PIOSS total and each dimension scores were significantly negatively correlated with the CCS and the WWBS scores and remarkably positively associated with the DDPRQ-10, the ILS, and the ODS scores. Cronbach's α coefficients for the PIOSS total scale and dimensions ranged from 0.775 to 0.914, and split-half reliability coefficients ranged from 0.801 to 0.931. In addition, the PIOSS exhibited cross-gender invariance.

Having good reliability and validity, the PIOSS can serve as a valid tool for the assessment of physician internalized occupational stigma.