This study aims to conduct a psychometric evaluation of the Dementia Stigma Measure (DSM) with Vietnamese adults in two different studies.
Methods
In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the original 11-item scale was conducted on a sample of 325 Vietnamese community-dwelling adults in a Northern area. In Study 2 with 407 adults living in Southern Vietnam, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted using structural equation modeling to test the validity and reliability of the modified DSM with retained factors and items found in Study 1.
Results
The EFA results in Study 1 suggested five retained items loaded on one factor. The CFA with another sample with close demographic characteristics but in a different region of Vietnam showed good model fit indices.
Conclusions
Both studies supported the one-factor structure of the modified five-item DSM, a valid and reliable brief measure of public stigma for Vietnamese community dwellers.
AnhN. H. P.ThanhN. X.LinhN. T. P.HuongN. T. M.HanhN. H.HuyenV. T. T. (2023). A comparative study of population characteristics and capacity aspects of dementia care between the nursing home and hospital nurses in Hanoi, Vietnam. Tạp Chí Nghiên Cứu Y Học, 173(12E13), Article 12E13. https://doi.org/10.52852/tcncyh.v173i12E13.2079
2.
BlayS. L.PelusoT. P. E. (2010). Public stigma: The community’s tolerance of Alzheimer disease. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(2), 163–171. https://doi.org/10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181bea900
3.
CaoM. L.HoT. K.TranK. T. (2022). Validity of mini-mental state examination (MMSE) in screening of dementia in community-dwelling elderly [Giá trị của trắc nghiệm đánh giá trạng thái tâm thần tối thiểu (mmse) trong sàng lọc sa sút trí tuệ ở người cao tuổi tại cộng đồng]. Journal of Medical Research [Tạp chí Nghiên cứu Y học], 149(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.52852/tcncyh.v149i1.525
4.
ChengS. T.LamL. C. W.ChanL. C. K.LawA. C. B.FungA. W. T.ChanW.TamC. W. C.ChanW. (2011). The effects of exposure to scenarios about dementia on stigma and attitudes toward dementia care in a Chinese community. International Psychogeriatrics, 23(9), 1433–1441. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610211000834
5.
ClarkL. A.WatsonD. (2019). Constructing validity: New developments in creating objective measuring instruments. Psychological Assessment, 31(12), 1412–1427. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000626
CorriganP. W. (2000). Mental health stigma as social attribution: Implications for research methods and attitude change. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 7(1), 48–67. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.7.1.48
8.
CorriganP. W.WatsonA. C. (2002). Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness. World Psychiatry, 1(1), 16–20. PMID: 16946807; PMCID: PMC1489832.
9.
DeVellisR. F. (2012). Scale Development: Theory and Applications. Sage.
10.
General Statistics Office & United Nations Population Fund. (2021). The population and housing census 2019: Population ageing and older persons in Vietnam.
11.
HuL.BentlerP. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55.https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
12.
Institute for Training in Preventive Medicine and Public Health. (2022). Coping with dementia in Vietnam: Evidence-based recommendations for the national plan for dementia prevention in Vietnam. Institute for Training in Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University.
13.
JohnsonR.HarkinsK.CaryM.SankarP.KarlawishJ. (2015). The relative contributions of disease label and disease prognosis to Alzheimer’s stigma: A vignette-based experiment. Social Science & Medicine, 143, 117–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.08.031
14.
KennyD. A.KaniskanB.McCoachD. B. (2015). The performance of RMSEA in models with small degrees of freedom. Sociological Methods & Research, 44(3), 486–507. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124114543236
KlineR. B. (2015). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling (4th Ed.). The Guilford Press.
17.
KyriazosT. A. (2018). Applied psychometrics: Sample size and sample power considerations in factor analysis (EFA, CFA) and SEM in general. Psychology (Savannah, GA), 9(8), 2207–2230. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2018.98126
18.
LasherK. P.FaulkenderP. J. (1993). Measurement of aging anxiety: Development of the Anxiety about Aging Scale. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 37(4), 247–259. https://doi.org/10.2190/1U69-9AU2-V6LH-9Y1L
19.
MaxfieldM.GreenbergJ. (2021). Anticipated stigma and dementia-related anxiety in middle-aged and older adults. GeroPsych, 34(1), 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000234
NguyenT.LevkoffS.NguyenH. (2021). He is just getting old, you know’: The role of cultural and health beliefs in shaping the help-seeking process of family members caring for persons with dementia in Vietnam. Ethnicity & Health, 27(7), 1630–1651. https://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2021.1922612
22.
NguyenT.LiX. (2020). Understanding public-stigma and self-stigma in the context of dementia: A systematic review of the global literature. Dementia (Basel, Switzerland), 19(2), 148–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301218800122
23.
NguyenT. A.DangT. H.TranK.KimG. B.BrodatyH.PhamT.PhamT. L.CrottyM.KurrleS.HintonL.EstermanA.NguyenT. A.RougheadE. E. (2020). Dementia in Vietnam: A situational analysis. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 16(S10), Article e039252. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.039252
24.
NguyenT. T. (2023). ‘Here, we describe them as forgetful, confused, and absent-minded’: Dementia knowledge, stigma, and care plan among Vietnamese adults in rural area. Aging & Mental Health, 28(6), 927–935. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2023.2293053
25.
NguyenT. T. (2025). Validity of the modified lay public stigma in the family stigma in Alzheimer’s disease scale (Modified FS-ADS) for general public in Vietnam. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-025-09537-w
26.
NordhusI. H.SivertsenB.PallesenS. (2012). Knowledge about Alzheimer’s disease among Norwegian psychologists: The Alzheimer’s disease knowledge scale. Aging & Mental Health, 16(4), 521–528. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2011.628973
27.
PhillipsonL.MageeC.JonesS.SkladzienE. (2012). Exploring dementia and stigma beliefs: A pilot study of Australian adults aged 40 to 65 yrs (No. Paper 28). Alzheimer’s Australia.
28.
PiverL. C.NubukpoP.FaureA.DumoitierN.CouratierP.ClémentJ. P. (2013). Describing perceived stigma against Alzheimer’s disease in a general population in France: The STIG-MA survey. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28(9), 933–938. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.3903
29.
SchumackerR. E.LomaxR. G. (2010). A Beginner’s Guide to Structural Equation Modeling (3rd ed.). Routledge.
30.
SietteJ.MekaA.AntoniadesJ. (2023). Breaking the barriers: Overcoming dementia-related stigma in minority communities. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, Article 1278944. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1278944
TruongQ. T. (2015). The quality of life and caregiving burden among caregivers of people with dementia in Hanoi, Bac Ninh and Hai Phong, Vietnam. Thesis, Queensland University of Technology. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/82287/
34.
WadleyV. G.HaleyW. E. (2001). Diagnostic attributions versus labeling: Impact of Alzheimer’s disease and major depression diagnoses on emotions, beliefs, and helping intentions of family members. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 56(4), P244–P252. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/56.4.P244
35.
WernerP. (2005). Social distance towards a person with Alzheimer’s disease. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(2), 182–188. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.1268
36.
WernerP. (2008). Discriminatory behavior towards a person with Alzheimer’s disease: Examining the effects of being in a nursing home. Aging & Mental Health, 12(6), 786–794. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607860802380649
