Development of a Yemeni AIDS stigma scale

Abstract

Research on the social and behavioral aspects of AIDS in the Arab world is relatively scarce despite the efforts of a few scholars over the last quarter century. AIDS-related stigma and discrimination are especially important areas that have received little attention. One critical barrier to undertaking such research has been the absence of an Arabic instrument to employ this work. The current study addressed this gap by developing and implementing an Arabic AIDS Stigma Scale that consisted of 10 items. The data were collected from college students at a public university in Yemen. Principle axis factor analysis identified two factors with five items each that explained 35% of the variance. The availability of the Yemeni AIDS Stigma Scale (YASS) should be a valuable resource for scholars interested in AIDS-related research in Yemen and the rest of the Arab world.

Keywords:

• HIV/AIDS
• Yemen
• Arab
• stigma
• scale development