Recieved: 08/02/2024
Accepted: 12/13/2024
Published: 02/12/2025
Keywords: BHSS-12; stigma; human immunodeficiency virus; psychological distress; psychometric analysis
Pages: 51-64
DOI: 10.11621/npj.2025.0105
Available online: 12.02.2025
Koreneva, E.V., Zolotareva, A.A. (2025). Russian Version of the Berger HIV Stigma Scale. National Psychological Journal, 20(1) , 51-64. https://doi.org/10.11621/npj.2025.0105
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CopyBackground. The Berger HIV Stigma Scale (BHSS) is one of the most well-known instruments for measuring the stigmatization of HIV-infected people. Russian experts have used the measure in empirical studies but have not yet adapted it for Russian-speaking respondents.
Objective. The study was aimed at adapting and examining the psychometric properties of the Russian short version of the Berger HIV Stigma Scale-12 (BHSS-12).
Study Participants.The data collection was conducted in June-July 2024. The participants were 120 HIV-infected respondents, including 65 women and 55 men aged 18 to 57 years (M = 38.1; SD = 8.93).
Methods.The participants completed a questionnaire containing the Russian version of the BHSS-12, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and a block of socio-demographic questions about sex, age, education, presence/absence of children and partners/ spouses, presence/absence of AIDS, visiting an AIDS Centre, and duration of the disease.
Results. Data analysis showed a four-factor structure of the Russian version of the BHSS-12, which coincides with the structure of the original instrument and confirms the factor validity of the adapted measure. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were 0.816, 0.794, 0.819, and 0.797 for the subscales “Personalized stigma”, “Disclosure concerns”, “Concerns about public attitudes”, and “Negative self-image”, respectively, which confirms the internal reliability of the Russian version of the BHSS-12. The HIV stigma was positively correlated with depression, anxiety, stress, and general psychological distress, which indicates the convergent validity of the adapted measure. Older HIV-infected respondents had the highest scores on the subscale “Concerns about public attitudes”. The participants who were not in partner and marital relationships showed the highest scores on the subscales “Concerns about public attitudes” and “Negative self-image”.
Conclusions.The Russian version of the BHSS-12 is reliable and valid, and therefore can be recommended as a diagnostic instrument for measuring the HIV stigma in Russian-speaking respondents.
Funding.The publication was prepared within the framework of the Academic Fund Program at HSE University (grant № 25-00-033 “Development of psychosomatic research in Russia”).
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Koreneva, E.V., Zolotareva, A.A.. Russian Version of the Berger HIV Stigma Scale. // National Psychological Journal 2025. 1. Pages51-64. doi: 10.11621/npj.2025.0105
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