Development and validation of the mental health professionals’ attitude towards people living with HIV/AIDS scale (MHP-PLHIV-AS)

Figures & data

Figure 1. Levels of the “attitude towards PLHIV” construct.

Table 1. Validation study – summary of demographic characteristics (n = 454).

Characteristic	M	SD
Age	43.68	14.16
Age Range 22–77
	n	%
Sex
Male	99	21.8
Female	354	78.0
Gender Non-Binary	1	.2
Race
Native American/Native Alaskan	4	.9
Asian	3	.7
Black/African American	34	7.5
Pacific Islander	1	.2
White/Caucasian	397	87.4
Native American/Native Alaskan & White/Caucasian	4	.9
Native American/Native Alaskan & Black/African American	1	.2
Asian & & White/Caucasian	1	.2
Black/African American & White/Caucasian	2	.5
Pacific Islander & White/Caucasian	1	.2
Other	6	1.3
Ethnicity
Hispanic/Latino	19	4.2
Non-Hispanic/Non-Latino	435	95.8

Table 2. Validation study – summary credentials (n = 454).

Credential	n	%
Counseling Masters Student	19	4.2
Counseling Doctoral Student	23	5.1
Counseling in Training (RCT or CT)	2	.4
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC/PC)	99	21.8
Licensed Professional Counselor – Provisional (LPC/PC PROV)	4	.9
Licensed Professional Counselor – Clinical Resident (LCP/CR-CR)	24	5.3
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC/PCC)	61	13.4
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor – Supervisor (LPCC-S/PCC-S)	105	23.1
Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT)	7	1.5
Marriage and Family Therapist – Temporary (MFT Temp)	1	.2
Marriage and Family Therapist – Independent (IMFT)	7	1.5
Licensed School Counselor (LSC)	34	7.5
Rehabilitation Counselor (RC)	3	.7
Chemical Dependency Counselor Assistant (CDCA)	6	1.3
Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor III (LCDC-III)	4	.9
Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor – Independent, Clinical Supervisor (LICDC-CS)	2	.4
National Certified Counselor (NCC)	3	.7
Counseling – Other	6	1.3
Social Work Masters Student	5	1.1
Licensed Social Worker (LSW)	12	2.6
Licensed Social Worker – Clinical (LCSW)	6	1.3
Licensed Social Worker – Master (LMSW)	7	1.5
Licensed Social Worker – Independent (LISW)	3	.7
Licensed Social Worker – Independent, Supervisor (LISW-S)	2	.4
Social Worker – Other	1	.2
Psychology Masters Student	1	.2
Psychology Doctoral Student	2	.4
Licensed Psychologist	2	.4
Other Mental Health Professional	3	.7

Table 3. Validation study – MHP-PLHIV-AS descriptive statistics (n = 454).

Item #	Item Code	1 (SD)	2 (D)	3 (A)	4 (SA)
1	AFF1	n = 6 % = 1.3	n = 3 % = .7	n = 212 % = 46.7	n = 233 % = 51.3
2	IND1	n = 17 % = 3.7	n = 85 % = 18.7	n = 218 % = 48.0	n = 134 % = 29.5
3	PUN1	n = 79 % = 17.4	n = 285 % = 62.8	n = 77 % = 17.0	n = 13 % = 2.9
4	EMP1	n = 1 % = .2	n = 19 % = 4.2	n = 262 % = 57.7	n = 172 % = 37.9
5	PUN3	n = 380 % = 83.7	n = 67 % = 14.8	n = 4 % = .9	n = 3 % = .7
6	PUN2	n = 167 % = 36.8	n = 218 % = 48.0	n = 65 % = 14.3	n = 4 % = .9
7	DIS1	n = 316 % = 69.6	n = 135 % = 29.7	n = 2 % = .4	n = 1 % = .2
8	PUN5	n = 274 % = 60.4	n = 171 % = 37.7	n = 7 % = 1.5	n = 2 % = .4
9	DIS2	n = 102 % = 22.5	n = 233 % = 51.3	n = 104 % = 22.9	n = 15 % = 3.3
10	ACC1	n = 7 % = 1.5	n = 6 % = 1.3	n = 156 % = 34.4	n = 285 % = 62.8
11	ALI2	n = 286 % = 63.0	n = 147 % = 32.4	n = 16 % = 3.5	n = 5 % = 1.1
12	ACC2	n = 2 % = .4	n = 13 % = 2.9	n = 182 % = 40.1	n = 257 % = 56.6
13	VIO2	n = 422 % = 93.0	n = 31 % = 6.8		n = 1 % = .2
14	IMP1	n = 37 % = 8.1	n = 180 % = 39.6	n = 152 % = 33.5	n = 85 % = 18.7
15	DIS3	n = 139 % = 30.6	n = 149 % = 32.8	n = 141 % = 31.1	n = 25 % = 5.5
16	PUN6	n = 276 % = 60.8	n = 169 % = 37.2	n = 9 % = 2.0
17	PUN4	n = 55 % = 12.1	n = 265 % = 58.4	n = 125 % = 27.5	n = 9 % = 2.0
18	DIS5	n = 215 % = 47.4	n = 226 % = 49.8	n = 11 % = 2.4	n = 2 % = .4
19	PUN7	n = 355 % = 78.2	n = 97 % = 21.4	n = 2 % = .4
20	AFF2			n = 43 % = 9.5	n = 411 % = 90.5
21	ALI1	n = 288 % = 63.4	n = 162 % = 35.7	n = 4 % = .9
22	DIS4	n = 34 % = 7.5	n = 116 % = 25.6	n = 235 % = 51.8	n = 69 % = 15.2
23	ALI3	n = 284 % = 62.6	n = 151 % = 33.3	n = 16 % = 3.5	n = 3 % = .7
24	COM1	n = 4 % = .9	n = 3 % = .7	n = 100 % = 22.0	n = 347 % = 76.4
25	VIO1	n = 410 % = 90.3	n = 39 % = 8.6	n = 3 % = .7	n = 2 % = .4

Table 4. Validation phase – data analyses process.

	Person Reliability	Person Separation	% Accounted for by 1st Dimension	Qualitative Summary of Item Fit	Qualitative Evaluation
	Step One: MHP-PLHIV-AS hypothesized as one dimension (all items with original coding)
	.43	.87	73%	Seven items (those representing mid- to more- favorable attitudes) with negative pt.-biserials	Poor reliability; negative pt.-biserials and construct chaos, indicative of a second dimension
Step Two: MHP-PLHIV-AS hypothesized as two dimensions with first dimension consisting of the seven more favorable attitude items, and the second dimension consisting of the remaining 18 items (all items with original coding)
Dimension 1	.83	2.19	42.5%	No negative pt.-biserials	Good reliability, low dimensionality; one item misfitting
Dimension 2	.85	2.42	51.8%	1 item (Item 14, IMP1) with negative pt.-biserial	Good reliability, acceptable dimensionality; one item misfitting should be re-grouped
Step Three: MHP-PLHIV-AS hypothesized as two dimensions with the first dimension consisting of the eight societal items, and the second dimension consisting of the remaining 17 personal items, (dimension 2 items reverse coded)
Societal Dimension (Dimension 1)	.59	1.21	48.9%	Excellent	Societal, more favorable items (with item 14, IMP1 included), lower reliability
Personal Dimension (Dimension 2)	.78	1.90	54.1%	Excellent	Personal, less favorable items, reverse coding, nice fit

Table 5. Validation phase – two dimensions with “impartial” item moved to dimension 1 and dimension 1 items re-coded.

Item #	Item Code	Ideal Desired Answer	Pt.-Biserial Correlation
Dimension 1
1	AFF1	SA	0.44
2	IND1	SA	0.61
4	EMP1	SA	0.56
10	ACC1	SA	0.52
12	ACC2	SA	0.58
14	IMP1	SA	0.59
20	AFF2	SA	0.36
24	COM1	SA	0.45
Dimension 2
3	PUN1	SD	0.58
5	PUN3	SD	0.40
6	PUN2	SD	0.58
7	DIS1	SD	0.43
8	PUN5	SD	0.60
9	DIS2	SD	0.46
11	ALI2	SD	0.56
13	VIO2	SD	0.37
15	DIS3	SD	0.54
16	PUN6	SD	0.52
17	PUN4	SD	0.46
18	DIS5	SD	0.48
19	PUN7	SD	0.58
21	ALI1	SD	0.51
22	DIS4	SD	0.55
23	ALI3	SD	0.56
25	VIO1	SD	0.37

Table 6. Validation phase – point-biserial correlations, societal and personal dimensions.

Item #	Question Code	Statement	Pt.-Biserial Correlation
Societal Dimension
1	AFF1	+	0.44
2	IND1	+	0.61
4	EMP1	+	0.56
10	ACC1	+	0.52
12	ACC2	+	0.58
14	IMP1	+	0.59
20	AFF2	+	0.36
24	COM1	+	0.45
Personal Dimension
3	PUN1	+ (Not −)	0.58
5	PUN3	+ (Not −)	0.40
6	PUN2	+ (Not −)	0.58
7	DIS1	+ (Not −)	0.43
8	PUN5	+ (Not −)	0.60
9	DIS2	+ (Not −)	0.46
11	ALI2	+ (Not −)	0.56
13	VIO2	+ (Not −)	0.37
15	DIS3	+ (Not −)	0.54
16	PUN6	+ (Not −)	0.52
17	PUN4	+ (Not −)	0.46
18	DIS5	+ (Not −)	0.48
19	PUN7	+ (Not −)	0.58
21	ALI1	+ (Not −)	0.51
22	DIS4	+ (Not −)	0.55
23	ALI3	+ (Not −)	0.56
25	VIO1	+ (Not −)	0.37