Abstract

Introduction: The perception of stigma has been negatively associated with metabolic control and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes. The Diabetes Stigma Assessment Scale 2 (DSAS 2) was designed to specifically measure the stigma associated with type 2 diabetes. The psychometric properties of its Spanish version have not yet been addressed. This limits the study of this phenomenon in both Colombia and other Spanish-speaking countries. Objective: To analyze the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of DSAS 2 in the Colombian population. Materials and method: 501 patients with type 2 diabetes from Barranquilla answered the Spanish version of DSAS 2, a questionnaire with sociodemographic and clinical indicators and measures about depression, self-efficacy, and stress. Factor analysis (exploratory and confirmatory) was performed to determine the internal structure of the DSAS 2 in Spanish and the Alpha coefficient (alpha) to evaluate its reliability. Additionally, we analyze the relationship between the DSAS 2 scores and the other variables studied. Results: A 3-factor structure (different treatment / judgment, guilt and shame) showed good fit to the data (RMSEA = 0.081, CFI = 0.959, TLI = 0.95) and good reliability (alpha = 0.76). Significant correlations of the scores Spanish version of DSAS 2 scores were observed with self-efficacy (r(s)=-0.37, p<0.001), stress (r(s)=0.24, p<0.001) and depression (r(s)=0.1, p=0.021). In addition, the scale scores showed variations associated with sociodemographic and clinical variables. Conclusions: The Spanish version presents certain differences with the original version of DSAS2. However, it shows adequate evidence of validity and reliability to be used in Colombia.