Validation of the Chinese Version of the Shame and Stigma Scale in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer

PURPOSE: Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients suffer from perceived shame and stigma due to the illness diagnosis, as well as disfigurement following surgery. To measure HNC patients’ perception of shame and stigma, the Shame and Stigma Scale (SSS) was developed and preliminarily validated. In this study, we aimed to translate, adapt, and validate the SSS in Chinese. METHODS: This study consisted of a cross-sectional design with consecutive sampling and consisted of two stages: (1) translation of the SSS into Chinese by two bilingual professionals and (2) examination of the Chinese version of the SSS (C-SSS) for internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability, construct validity, and concurrent validity. In total, 159 inpatients with HNC (mean age: 56.8 years, 95% males) were enrolled at a medical center in Southern Taiwan. RESULTS: The Principal Component Analysis of the C-SSS revealed a five-factor structure: 4 of the 5 factors were replicated in the original SSS, including Shame with Appearance, Regret, Social/Speech Concern, and Sense of Stigma; only factor 4, Self-discrimination, was newly identified in the current study. C-SSS showed acceptable internal validity (Cronbach’s α =0.85), test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, and fair concurrent validity with the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire (TDQ), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), and Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue (EMIC). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicate that C-SSS is a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating HNC patients’ perception of shame and stigma in the Taiwanese population.