A Psychometric Analysis of the Military Stigma Scale

U.S. military populations experience a high level of mental health concerns, including post-traumatic stress disorder, clinical depression, and suicide, when compared with their civilian counterparts, and tend to access mental health services at a lower rate. Military health scholars have noted that stigma against mental health help-seeking has multiple sources, including professional, personal, and social components, though these components are rarely separated in examining why military service members avoid clinical help. Valid measurement of these factors is necessary to examine the heart of rising clinical needs. The current study replicates and extends prior work applying a bifactor model to the Military Stigma Scale (MSS). In a sample of n = 1,832 Army National Guard members, a bifactor model presented acceptable fit, though invariance testing by rank and education indicates disparate experiences with military service as deviating influences. Specifically, Private Stigma was significantly lower in higher paygrade service members and those with a college degree, while Public Stigma was higher. Results call into question the theoretical viability of a bifactor model of the MSS, especially in the evaluation of Expected Common Variance and specific factor reliability.