Reliability and Validity of the Arabic Version of the Cancer Stigma Scale

Background: Stigma is a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person. Stigma can be attached to health-related problems or illnesses. That is, people with a certain disease might be stigmatized or devalued due to their illness. Most stigma studies focus on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), leprosy, and mental illnesses. The purpose of this study is to investigate the reliability and validity of the Arabic version of the Cancer Stigma Scale (CSS). Methods: The present study is a validation study based on correlation and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The 25-item CSS was translated into Arabic by psychologists competent in both Arabic and English. Back translation was used to ensure transliteral equivalency. The scale was given to 262 Iraqi university students in Mosul University, Iraq, through convenience sampling. Item-total correlations, internal consistency reliability, and construct validity were examined. SPSS and AMOS software were used for data analysis. Results: All the items had acceptable item-total correlations. They ranged from 0.49 to 0.72 (mean = 0.63) and all were significant at P < 0.01. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability was 0.88. CFA was used to examine the fit of the 6-factor solution arrived by the scale developers. Goodness of fit indicators [comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.923, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.919, chi-square/degree of freedom (χ2/df) = 1.98, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.064] showed that the original 6-factor model had a good fit for the data. Conclusion: The Arabic version of the CSS was valid and reliable and can be used for measuring cancer stigma in the Arab-speaking general populations.