Measuring Dimensions of Perceived Discrimination in Five Stigmatized Groups

• DOI: 10.1007/s11205-012-0179-5
• Publication Date: 2012-10-19T00:41:17Z
• Authors: Fernando Molero; Patricia Recio; Cristina García-Ael; María J. Fuster; Pilar Sanjuán
• Keywords: Affect

The purpose of this investigation was to design and validate a multidimensional scale with the potential to measure perceived discrimination in different stigmatized groups. The study was carried out in Spain with a sample of 1,016 participants belonging to five stigmatized groups: Latin American immigrants, Romanian immigrants, people with HIV, gays and lesbians. Confirmatory factor analysis validated the existence of four dimensions in the scale: blatant group discrimination, subtle group discrimination, blatant individual discrimination, and subtle individual discrimination. In accordance with the literature, the scale presents positive relations with the stigma consciousness scale (Pinel in J Pers Soc Psychol 76:114–128, 1999) and negative relations with two measures of psychological well-being, affect balance and self-acceptance. Likewise, the results indicate that the perception of subtle individual discrimination is more negatively associated with participants’ psychological well-being.