Bifactor SEM and MIRT Structure of a 12-Item Human Immunodeficiency Virus Stigma Scale in Peruvian Adults.

Abstract

The stigma associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can lead to prejudice and discrimination against people who have been infected by this virus, consequently, it is important to have a validated tool to measure this phenomenon. However, there is only 1 national precedent that has validated the scores of this instrument in its 21-item version. Therefore, this study examined the bifactor structural equation method (SEM) and multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) structure of a 12-item human immunodeficiency virus stigma scale in Peruvian adults. We evaluated 342 patients (57.6% female and 42.45% male) diagnosed with HIV receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) from a hospital located in East Lima, aged 18 to 45 years (<i>M</i> = 31.4, SD = 9.79). A SEM was used to test 2 measurement models, a 4-factor correlated oblique model and a bifactor model due to high interfactor relationships. Acceptable fit indices were identified for the oblique model (χ²/df = 1.26, SRMR = 0.044, RMSEA [90% CI] = 0.028 [0.000-0.047], CFI = 0.996, TLI = 0.994). In the same way, similar results were evident for the bifactor model (χ²/df = 1.14, SRMR = 0.039, RMSEA [90% CI] = 0.020 [0.000-0.044], CFI = 0.998, TLI = 0.997), however, in the latter it showed a greater explanation for the unidimensional model (<i>H</i> = 0.87, PUC = 0.82, LCA = 0.70), which was also evidenced by the bifactor MIRT analysis. It is concluded that the 12-item HIV Stigma Scale meets the psychometric properties of internal structure and unifactorial reliability.