Purpose This study aimed to translate and adapt the Type 1 Diabetes Stigma Assessment Scale (DSAS-1) into Korean and investigate its validity and reliability for Korean patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).
Methods Following a forward-backward translation process, six experts evaluated the content validity of the translated DSAS-1. The DSAS-1 scale (19 items) was administered to 106 T1DM patients, and the data were analyzed. Construct validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and scale reliability were examined using confirmatory factor analyses and Cronbach’s α coefficient. Data were analyzed using SPSS 28.0 and AMOS 26.0.
Results The item “Some people expect less of me because I have Type 1 diabetes” had a factor loading of .41 in confirmatory factor analyses. When the item was removed, the average variance extracted increased from .47 to .53. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate model fit indices (χ2/df=1.60, p<.001, GFI=.82, RMSEA=.075, CFI=.92, TLI=.90). The DSAS-1-K (18 items) exhibited moderate convergent and discriminant validity. Cronbach’s α for the overall scale (18 items) was .90, and the three-factor scale ranged from .84 to .89.
Conclusion Our results indicate that 18 DSAS-1 items are recommended in Korea. However, the original scale’s copyright issue prevented any modifications. When using 19 items, the convergent validity was partially unsatisfactory; the model fit index was somewhat low but within the acceptable range. Therefore, we suggest that researchers using the DSAS-1-K (19 items) should consider the results of our study.
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