Clinical Report: Assessment of Psychometric Properties of the Professional Forensic Stigma Scale
Overview
The PROfessional Forensic Stigma (PROFS) scale demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties, including reliability and construct validity, for assessing professional stigma among mental health care professionals working with forensic populations. The refined scale consists of 30 items across three domains: Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination.
Background
Professional stigma in forensic mental healthcare can adversely affect the quality of care and treatment outcomes for service users. The PROFS scale aims to provide a reliable tool for assessing stigma in forensic settings.
Data Highlights
Measure
PSI
Total Scale
0.86–0.90
Stereotypes Subscale
0.67–0.84
Key Findings
The initial PROFS scale had 36 items and was refined to a final version with 30 items.
The scale demonstrated a three-domain structure: Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination.
Convergent validity was supported by moderate to strong correlations with other measures of stigma and emotional reactions.
The refined PROFS showed acceptable to good reliability across its total and subscales.
Weak associations with empathy and social desirability indicated divergent validity.
Clinical Implications
The PROFS scale can be utilized to identify and measure professional stigma in forensic mental health teams.
Conclusion
The PROFS scale is a tool for assessing professional stigma in forensic mental health settings, with psychometric properties supporting its use in research.
