Development of a 12-item short version of the HIV stigma scale

Table 3 Results from exploratory factor analysis^a

	Factors^b
	1	2	3	4
Eigenvalues	5.61	1.50	1.21	1.01
Item
Personalised stigma
29. People I care about stopped calling after learning I have HIV	0.978	−0.010	−0.044	0.025
36. I have lost friends by telling them I have HIV	0.862	0.005	−0.081	−0.093
28. Some people avoid touching me once they know I have HIV	0.614	−0.005	0.245	0.012
Disclosure concerns
6. I work hard to keep my HIV a secret	−0.025	−0.870	−0.054	−0.036
4. Telling someone I have HIV is risky	−0.017	−0.764	−0.041	−0.146
17. I am very careful who I tell that I have HIV	0.005	−0.748	0.135	0.086
Concerns about public attitudes
10. Most people believe a person who has HIV is dirty	−0.023	−0.001	0.783	−0.103
9. People with HIV are treated like outcasts	0.035	0.023	0.705	−0.145
20. Most people are uncomfortable around someone with HIV	0.132	−0.260	0.604	0.094
Negative self-image
2. I feel guilty because I have HIV	0.012	−0.041	−0.038	−0.759
3. People’s attitudes about HIV make me feel worse about myself	0.033	−0.046	0.046	−0.758
7. I feel I’m not as good a person as others because I have HIV	0.033	0.008	0.130	−0.663

^aAlpha factoring, oblimin rotation on data from the study “Living with HIV in Sweden” (n = 440)
^bFactor loadings <-0.32 or >0.32 in bold

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