Affiliate stigma among caregivers of people with intellectual disability or mental illness

Winnie W.S. Mak, Rebecca Y.M. Cheung

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

351 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background Affiliate stigma refers to the extent of self-stigmatization among associates of the targeted minorities. Given previous studies on caregiver stigma were mostly qualitative in nature, a conceptually based, unified, quantitative instrument to measure affiliate stigma is still lacking. Materials and Methods Two hundred and ten caregivers of people with intellectual disability (CPID) and 108 caregivers of people with mental illness (CPMI) were recruited to validate the 22-item Affiliate Stigma Scale with caregiving stress, subjective burden and positive perceptions. Results Exploratory factor analysis suggested that the scale was unidimensional, with excellent internal consistencies for both CPID and CPMI. It showed good predictive validity on subjective burden, after the extent of caregiving involvement and caregiving stress were controlled for. Conclusion Implications on psychoeducation and stigma reduction were discussed. The newly developed scale provided a quantitative instrument with which affiliate stigma can be compared across different conditions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)532-545
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities
Volume21
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Affiliate stigma
  • Caregiving
  • Intellectual disability
  • Mental illness

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