Validity and Reliability of the Scale for Determining Nursing Students' Perceptions of Stigmatization

Abstract

Introduction: Stigmatization can negatively affect the relationship between the patient and health professional. Aims: The aim of this study was to develop the Scale for Determining Nursing Students' Perceptions of Stigmatization. Methods: The population of the study consisted of 403 nursing students. A literature review and qualitative interviews with 24 students were conducted to generate the initial items. Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis were applied to examine the construct validity of the scale. The reliability of the scale was evaluated with Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient and item-total score correlation coefficients. Results: After confirmatory factor analysis, the Scale for Determining Nursing Students' Perceptions of Stigmatization was finalized with 19 items and five sub-dimensions. In the confirmatory factor analysis, the goodness of fit values of the scale was determined as chi(2)/sd: 2.957; GFI: 0.902; AGFI: 0.869; IFI: 0.906; TLI: 0.937; CFI: 0.905; RMSEA: 0.070; SRMR: 0.063. The reliability of the scale over time was evaluated with the test-retest method, and it was found that the agreement between the responses was very good (ICC: 0.980; p < 0.001). The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was 0.824. Conclusions: It was determined that the Scale for Determining Nursing Students' Perceptions of Stigmatization is a short, easy-to-understand, and psychometrically sound measurement tool that can be safely applied to nursing students. Nursing students' perceptions of stigmatization can be determined using this scale. The nursing education curriculum can be restructured in line with the findings obtained.