Examining the Psychometrics of the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance measure for community HIV-related Stigma

The research tested the psychometrics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National HIV Behavioral Surveillance(NHBS) community HIV-related stigma scale. Data was from men who have sex with men(MSM) NHBS cycles conducted 2011-2017 in Miami-Dade, Florida among N=1,455 participants. MSM were cis-gender male, 18+ years old, reported lifetime oral/anal sex with a male, and lived in Miami-Dade County. We assessed reliability using Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega, determined factors using principal factor analysis, and assessed construct validity using five a priori hypotheses. The scale was unidimensional, had questionable internal reliability (α=0.68, ω=0.69), and met four of five a priori hypotheses in the expected direction. Correlations were medium-weak in strength and only one was consistently met. Future iterations of the NHBS survey should consider replacing the 4-item community HIV-related stigma scale with an instrument that has superior internal reliability, measures multiple HIV-related stigma dimensions, and demonstrates stronger evidence of validity.