Preliminary development of a scale to measure stigma relating to sexually transmitted infections among women in a high risk neighbourhood
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As stigma is a socially constructed concept, it would follow that stigma related to sexual behaviours and sexually transmitted infections would carry with it many of the gender-based morals that are entrenched in social constructs of...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2008-11-01
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| Series: | BMC Women's Health |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6874/8/21 |
| _version_ | 1818755997159653376 |
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| author | Patrick David M Stancer Karen Burgess Susan Shoveller Jean A Rusch Melanie LA Tyndall Mark W |
| author_facet | Patrick David M Stancer Karen Burgess Susan Shoveller Jean A Rusch Melanie LA Tyndall Mark W |
| author_sort | Patrick David M |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As stigma is a socially constructed concept, it would follow that stigma related to sexual behaviours and sexually transmitted infections would carry with it many of the gender-based morals that are entrenched in social constructs of sexuality. In many societies, women tend to be judged more harshly with respect to sexual morals, and would therefore have a different experience of stigma related to sexual behaviours as compared to men. While a variety of stigma scales exist for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in general; none incorporate these female-specific aspects. The objective of this study was to develop a scale to measure the unique experience of STI-related stigma among women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A pool of items was identified from qualitative and quantitative literature on sexual behaviour and STIs among women. Women attending a social evening program at a local community health clinic in a low-income neighbourhood with high prevalence of substance use were passively recruited to take part in a cross-sectional structured interview, including questions on sexual behaviour, sexual health and STI-related stigma. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify stigma scales, and descriptive statistics were used to assess the associations of demographics, sexual and drug-related risk behaviours with the emerging scales.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three scales emerged from exploratory factor analysis – female-specific moral stigma, social stigma (judgement by others) and internal stigma (self-judgement) – with alpha co-efficients of 0.737, 0.705 and 0.729, respectively. In this population of women, internal stigma and social stigma carried higher scores than female-specific moral stigma. Aboriginal ethnicity was associated with higher internal and female-specific moral stigma scores, while older age (>30 years) was associated with higher female-specific moral stigma scores.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Descriptive statistics indicated an important influence of culture and age on specific types of stigma. Quantitative researchers examining STI-stigma should consider incorporating these female-specific factors in order to tailor scales for women.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T05:48:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33b553ebd32742ec90907e5dbf50e383 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6874 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T05:48:02Z |
| publishDate | 2008-11-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Women's Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-33b553ebd32742ec90907e5dbf50e3832022-12-21T21:18:58ZengBMCBMC Women's Health1472-68742008-11-01812110.1186/1472-6874-8-21Preliminary development of a scale to measure stigma relating to sexually transmitted infections among women in a high risk neighbourhoodPatrick David MStancer KarenBurgess SusanShoveller Jean ARusch Melanie LATyndall Mark W<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As stigma is a socially constructed concept, it would follow that stigma related to sexual behaviours and sexually transmitted infections would carry with it many of the gender-based morals that are entrenched in social constructs of sexuality. In many societies, women tend to be judged more harshly with respect to sexual morals, and would therefore have a different experience of stigma related to sexual behaviours as compared to men. While a variety of stigma scales exist for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in general; none incorporate these female-specific aspects. The objective of this study was to develop a scale to measure the unique experience of STI-related stigma among women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A pool of items was identified from qualitative and quantitative literature on sexual behaviour and STIs among women. Women attending a social evening program at a local community health clinic in a low-income neighbourhood with high prevalence of substance use were passively recruited to take part in a cross-sectional structured interview, including questions on sexual behaviour, sexual health and STI-related stigma. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify stigma scales, and descriptive statistics were used to assess the associations of demographics, sexual and drug-related risk behaviours with the emerging scales.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three scales emerged from exploratory factor analysis – female-specific moral stigma, social stigma (judgement by others) and internal stigma (self-judgement) – with alpha co-efficients of 0.737, 0.705 and 0.729, respectively. In this population of women, internal stigma and social stigma carried higher scores than female-specific moral stigma. Aboriginal ethnicity was associated with higher internal and female-specific moral stigma scores, while older age (>30 years) was associated with higher female-specific moral stigma scores.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Descriptive statistics indicated an important influence of culture and age on specific types of stigma. Quantitative researchers examining STI-stigma should consider incorporating these female-specific factors in order to tailor scales for women.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6874/8/21 |
| spellingShingle | Patrick David M Stancer Karen Burgess Susan Shoveller Jean A Rusch Melanie LA Tyndall Mark W Preliminary development of a scale to measure stigma relating to sexually transmitted infections among women in a high risk neighbourhood BMC Women's Health |
| title | Preliminary development of a scale to measure stigma relating to sexually transmitted infections among women in a high risk neighbourhood |
| title_full | Preliminary development of a scale to measure stigma relating to sexually transmitted infections among women in a high risk neighbourhood |
| title_fullStr | Preliminary development of a scale to measure stigma relating to sexually transmitted infections among women in a high risk neighbourhood |
| title_full_unstemmed | Preliminary development of a scale to measure stigma relating to sexually transmitted infections among women in a high risk neighbourhood |
| title_short | Preliminary development of a scale to measure stigma relating to sexually transmitted infections among women in a high risk neighbourhood |
| title_sort | preliminary development of a scale to measure stigma relating to sexually transmitted infections among women in a high risk neighbourhood |
| url | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6874/8/21 |
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