@article{32548,
  keywords = {Disability, Internalised stigma, leprosy, Scale development, Stigma},
  author = {Darlong J and Mahato B and Govindharaj P and Srinivasan S and Acharya P},
  title = {A New Instrument to Measure Leprosy Internalised Stigma: the Leprosy Internalised Stigma Scale (LISS)},
  abstract = {<p>Purpose: Leprosy is a stigmatised disease and the assessment of stigma is particularly important. There is a need for comprehensive, valid and reliable instrument to assess internalised stigma. Objective: To develop a scale to measure internalised stigma for people affected by leprosy. Methods: A cross sectional scale development study was carried out in a tertiary leprosy referral centre, Purulia, West Bengal, India using standard methods. A 27 item scale was developed to measure the internalised stigma. The scale was administered with a consecutive sample of 416 people affected by leprosy aged above 18 years and 54 completed the scale twice within an interval of 3{\textendash}4 weeks. Developing the scales involved face and content validity, internal consistency, factor analyses, construct validity and test{\textendash}retest reliability. Construct validity of the scale was determined by using Participation Scale and World Health Organization Quality Of Life (WHOQOL-Bref) scale. Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor solution accounting for 81\% of the total variance. The four underlying sub-scale dimensions were self\&nbsp;acceptance, self isolation, social withdrawal and disclosure. Cronbach{\textquoteright}s alpha was 0{\textperiodcentered}96, and test intra-class correlation coefficient was 0{\textperiodcentered}77. The total score of the LISS scale had a significant moderate positive correlation with the P Scale (r{\textonequarter}0{\textperiodcentered}51, p{\textonequarter}0{\textperiodcentered}00) and a weak negative correlation with WHOQOL total score (r{\textonequarter}20{\textperiodcentered}36, p{\textonequarter}0{\textperiodcentered}00). Conclusion: The LISS scale is acceptable, valid and reliable for measuring the Internalised stigma of the persons affected by leprosy. It is a promising tool which can be easily incorporated into leprosy programmes.</p>
},
  year = {2018},
  journal = {Leprosy review},
  volume = {89},
  pages = {242-255},
  url = {https://www.lepra.org.uk/platforms/lepra/files/lr/Sept18/Lep242-255.pdf},
  language = {eng},
}