Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Category
Social Sciences/Humanities
Abstract/Artist Statement
Stigma acts as a barrier to receiving treatment for mental health concerns. Label avoidance, one of several different aspects that compose the overarching concept of stigma, captures the stigma involved when individuals avoid social institutions that might confer a psychiatric diagnostic label and would mark them as an individual with a mental health problem. Label avoidance has been described as a key stigma construct in the literature but has been sparsely studied. Answering a call in the field for new, psychometrically sound stigma measures, we created a new measure of label avoidance and acquired initial validity and reliability evidence supporting its use among an adult population.
Preliminary item development for the Label Avoidance Measure (LAM) was performed using a rational scale construction approach, allowing us to generate items based on our conceptual understanding of label avoidance and stigma theory. Then, 41 undergraduates (93% female, 70% white) provided insight on the preliminary measure, prompting discussion and alteration of the scale from a sample of the target population.
Once the preliminary scale items were finalized, data were collected in two phases. At time one, 232 adults (53% female; 76% white) recruited from the crowdsourcing technique Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) completed multiple stigma measures, a measure of social desirability, a measure of hope, and the preliminary Label Avoidance Measure. An exploratory components factor analysis of the LAM indicated a one-factor solution, rather than suggesting the LAM should be split into multiple subscales. Three items were eliminated because they did not meaningfully load onto the factor (criterion level < .4). Internal consistency analysis indicated that the items on the LAM are strongly related (α = .976).
Additionally, preliminary convergent and discriminant validity evidence was gathered to compare the LAM to existing measures. The LAM was significantly and strongly correlated with the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale (r = .744, pr = .619, pr = -.243, pr = -.309, p<.01).
In order to measure test-retest reliability, the same participants were contacted two weeks later to complete the LAM a second time. Respondents included 89 participants (56% female; 79% white). The LAM demonstrated good test-retest reliability (r = .810, p<.01).
Though further research is needed, this preliminary evidence indicates that the LAM is internally consistent and demonstrates acceptable convergent and discriminant validity evidence. In addition, the measure appears to be temporally stable, with good reliability over a two week interval. This measure has good potential for use to identify individuals who may benefit from treatment for a mental health problem but are hesitant to receive help due to the possibility of being labeled as part of a stigmatized group. Limitations and clinical implications will be discussed.
Mentor Name
Duncan Campbell
Video of presentation
Cameron Grad Con Presentation.pptx (258 kB)
Powerpoint slides used
Developing the Label Avoidance Measure of Stigma: A preliminary psychometric review
Stigma acts as a barrier to receiving treatment for mental health concerns. Label avoidance, one of several different aspects that compose the overarching concept of stigma, captures the stigma involved when individuals avoid social institutions that might confer a psychiatric diagnostic label and would mark them as an individual with a mental health problem. Label avoidance has been described as a key stigma construct in the literature but has been sparsely studied. Answering a call in the field for new, psychometrically sound stigma measures, we created a new measure of label avoidance and acquired initial validity and reliability evidence supporting its use among an adult population.
Preliminary item development for the Label Avoidance Measure (LAM) was performed using a rational scale construction approach, allowing us to generate items based on our conceptual understanding of label avoidance and stigma theory. Then, 41 undergraduates (93% female, 70% white) provided insight on the preliminary measure, prompting discussion and alteration of the scale from a sample of the target population.
Once the preliminary scale items were finalized, data were collected in two phases. At time one, 232 adults (53% female; 76% white) recruited from the crowdsourcing technique Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) completed multiple stigma measures, a measure of social desirability, a measure of hope, and the preliminary Label Avoidance Measure. An exploratory components factor analysis of the LAM indicated a one-factor solution, rather than suggesting the LAM should be split into multiple subscales. Three items were eliminated because they did not meaningfully load onto the factor (criterion level < .4). Internal consistency analysis indicated that the items on the LAM are strongly related (α = .976).
Additionally, preliminary convergent and discriminant validity evidence was gathered to compare the LAM to existing measures. The LAM was significantly and strongly correlated with the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale (r = .744, pr = .619, pr = -.243, pr = -.309, p<.01).
In order to measure test-retest reliability, the same participants were contacted two weeks later to complete the LAM a second time. Respondents included 89 participants (56% female; 79% white). The LAM demonstrated good test-retest reliability (r = .810, p<.01).
Though further research is needed, this preliminary evidence indicates that the LAM is internally consistent and demonstrates acceptable convergent and discriminant validity evidence. In addition, the measure appears to be temporally stable, with good reliability over a two week interval. This measure has good potential for use to identify individuals who may benefit from treatment for a mental health problem but are hesitant to receive help due to the possibility of being labeled as part of a stigmatized group. Limitations and clinical implications will be discussed.