Development of the Affiliate Stigma Scale for parents of children with genetic conditions

Abstract

Affiliate stigma is an internalized form of courtesy stigma that arises from close connections with individuals who have stigmatized traits. Assessing affiliate stigma in clinical settings is crucial, as it affects the psychological well-being of those affected. However, no measurement scale is currently available to assess affiliate stigma related to genetic conditions. This study aimed to develop a Japanese version of the Affiliate Stigma Scale utilizing data obtained from parents of children with genetic conditions. We adapted the English version of the Affiliate Stigma Scale originally developed for caregivers of individuals with mental illness and intellectual disabilities to the parents of children with genetic conditions through a back-translation protocol. The reliability and validity of the scale were confirmed using a quantitative analysis with 518 Japanese parents of children with Down syndrome. A factor analysis suggested a one-factor solution with high internal reliability, and the score was significantly negatively correlated with a positive characteristic—resilience. Furthermore, the results indicated that affiliate stigma scores differed significantly according to the child's developmental stage, with higher scores observed in earlier stages. Multiple regression analysis revealed that parental feelings on the resilience scale were negatively correlated with affiliate stigma; however, the significant predictors differed by the child's developmental stage. These findings suggest that the newly developed scale is useful in assessing affiliate stigma and providing guidance for parents experiencing interpersonal difficulties related to their child's genetic conditions.