A literature review was conducted to review work done to date on measuring stigma related to leprosy. References were obtained through a PubMed (Medline) search and through examining relevant bibliographies. Twelve papers were selected that addressed the issue of measurement of stigma and that contained a sample of the instrument used. Three unpublished studies were also included in the review....

OBJECTIVE Programme implementers have argued that the increasing availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART) will reduce the stigma of HIV. We analyzed data from Uganda to assess how HIV-related stigma has changed during a period of ART expansion. DESIGN Serial cross-sectional surveys. METHODS We analyzed data from the Uganda AIDS Rural Treatment Outcomes study during 2007-2012 to estimate...

Weight stigma is associated with a range of negative outcomes, including disordered eating, but the psychological mechanisms underlying these associations are not well understood. The present study tested whether the association between weight stigma experiences and disordered eating behaviors (emotional eating, uncontrolled eating, and loss-of-control eating) are mediated by weight bias intern...

The stigma associated with mental illness can lead to a range of negative outcomes, including delaying or avoiding help seeking. Identifying the characteristics of people who are more likely to hold stigmatizing attitudes enables the development of targeted stigma reduction programs. However, no previous research has systematically examined the predictors of anxiety stigma. This study used the ...

This article sets out to expand the way stigma, and those affected by it, are understood within leprosy discourse and to apply these insights to the analysis of the experiences of leprosy workers. The term stigma is often used simply as shorthand for 'negative social experience'. However, to reduce the negative aspects of complex everyday life experiences to a single word is often overly simpli...

BACKGROUND Although there is substantial concern about negative attitudes to mental illness, little is known about the stigma associated with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) or its measurement. The aim of this study was to develop a multi-item measure of Generalised Anxiety Disorder stigma (the GASS). METHODS Stigma items were developed from a thematic analysis of web-based text about the ...

OBJECTIVE Many psychiatric patients suffer from self-stigma. One consequence of these internalized prejudices is decreased treatment efficacy. Much has been written about the effects of self-stigma in patients with severe mental disorders. However, individuals with minor psychiatric disorders also suffer from self-stigma. It is therefore necessary to explore the effect of self-stigma on treatme...

BACKGROUND Research on depression stigma is needed to gain more insight into the underlying construct and to reduce the level of stigma in the community. However, few validated measurements of depression stigma are available in the Netherlands. Therefore, this study first sought to examine the psychometric properties of the Dutch translation of the Depression Stigma Scale (DSS). Second, we exam...

BACKGROUND Living with HIV is of daily concern for many South Africans and poses challenges including adapting to a chronic illness and continuing to achieve and meet social expectations. This study explored experiences of being HIV-positive and how people manage stigma in their daily social interactions. METHODS Using qualitative methods we did repeat interviewed with 42 HIV-positive men and...

BACKGROUND Stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness remain barriers to help seeking and full recovery for people in need of mental health services. Yet there is scarce research investigating the experiences of psychiatric stigma on mental health service users in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of this study was therefore to explore the experiences of psychi...