Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Critical Care Medicine, Dermatology, Surgery, General & Internal Medicine, Perceived stigmatization, Social comfort, Burn-specific health related quality of life, Anxiety, Depression, Validity, HEALTH, EPIDEMIOLOGY, RELIABILITY, ADOLESCENTS, ADJUSTMENT, CHILDREN, INJURY, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Body Surface Area, Burns, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Female, Health Status, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychometrics, Quality of Life, Reproducibility of Results, Social Stigma, Social Support, Stereotyping, Surveys and Questionnaires, Survivors, Translations, Trauma Severity Indices, Young Adult, 1103 Clinical Sciences, Emergency & Critical Care Medicine, 3202 Clinical sciences, 4201 Allied health and rehabilitation science

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the German version of the Perceived Stigmatization Questionnaire/Social Comfort Questionnaire (PSQ/SCQ) in burn victims. METHODS: The PSQ/SCQ was answered by 139 adult burn survivors (age M=49.69, SD=15.16 years). Factor structure was examined using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Validity was investigated through correlations between the PSQ/SCQ scales and questionnaires assessing perceived social support, burn-specific health-related quality of life, symptoms of anxiety/depression, and percent of total body surface area (TBSA) burned. Additionally, the link between perceived stigmatization/social comfort and current partnership status was investigated. RESULTS: The four-factor model showed the best fit to the data with three PSQ factors (Absence of Friendly Behavior, Confused/Staring Behavior, and Hostile Behavior) and one single SCQ factor. All PSQ/SCQ scales showed good internal consistency. Higher PSQ/lower SCQ means were related to less perceived social support, less burn-specific quality of life, and more symptoms of anxiety/depression. With the exception of a positive correlation with the PSQ subscale Confused Behavior and Staring, no other significant correlations were found between the PSQ/SCQ subscales and TBSA burned. While PSQ/SCQ scores were not linked to age or gender, less perceived social stigmatization/more social comfort was reported by participants who were currently living with a partner. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate a four-factor structure and a good validity of the PSQ/SCQ which is in line with prior research. Further studies should investigate the application of the PSQ/SCQ in individuals with appearance distinctions that are not related to burns.