Table 2. Results of Two Confirmatory Factor Analyses.
| Second CFA: Original Scale Structure with Non-Cross-Loading Items | Third CFA: Modified Scale Structure based on Second CFA | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Item | Factor 1 | Factor 2 | Factor 3 | Factor 4 | Factor 1 | Factor 2 | Factor 3 | Factor 4 |
| 1. In many areas of my life, no one knows | -- | 0.50 | -- | -- | -- | 0.53 | -- | -- |
| 2. I feel guilty | -- | -- | 0.77 | -- | -- | -- | 0.75 | -- |
| 3. People's attitudes make me feel worse about myself | -- | -- | 0.78 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 5. People lose their jobs | -- | -- | -- | 0.39 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 7. I feel I am not as good a person as others | -- | -- | 0.74 | -- | -- | -- | 0.69 | -- |
| 8. I never feel ashamed | -- | -- | -0.53 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 9. People are treated like outcasts | -- | -- | -- | 0.72 | -- | -- | -- | 0.71 |
| 10. Most people believe a person is dirty | -- | -- | -- | 0.79 | -- | -- | -- | 0.79 |
| 12. Makes me feel unclean | -- | -- | 0.76 | -- | -- | -- | 0.80 | -- |
| 14. People think a person is disgusting | -- | -- | -- | 0.88 | -- | -- | -- | 0.90 |
| 15. Makes me feel I'm a bad person | -- | -- | 0.73 | -- | -- | -- | 0.77 | -- |
| 17. I am very careful who I tell | -- | 0.69 | -- | -- | -- | 0.71 | -- | -- |
| 18. Some people who know have grown distant | 0.67 | -- | -- | -- | 0.67 | -- | -- | -- |
| 20. Most people are uncomfortable around someone | -- | -- | -- | 0.54 | -- | -- | -- | 0.53 |
| 21. I never feel the need to hide it | -- | -0.70 | -- | -- | -- | -0.75 | -- | -- |
| 23. Having it in my body is disgusting to me | -- | -- | 0.71 | -- | -- | -- | 0.75 | -- |
| 24. I have been hurt by how people have reacted | 0.59 | -- | -- | -- | 0.56 | -- | -- | -- |
| 25. I worry people will tell others | -- | 0.68 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 26. I regret having told some people | 0.56 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 29. People I care about stopped calling | 0.78 | -- | -- | -- | 0.78 | -- | -- | -- |
| 33. I have stopped socializing with some people because of their reactions | 0.82 | -- | -- | -- | 0.84 | -- | -- | -- |
| 34. I have lost friends by telling them | 0.74 | -- | -- | -- | 0.76 | -- | -- | -- |
| 35. I have told people close to me to keep it a secret | -- | 0.69 | -- | -- | -- | 0.66 | -- | -- |
Note: Item content is paraphrased. Scale instructions were: ““This study asks about some of the social and emotional aspects of having genital herpes. For most of the questions, just circle the letters or numbers that go with your answer. There are no right or wrong answers.” Values represent standardized factor loadings from confirmatory factor analysis. Factor 1 = Personalized stigma; Factor 2 = Disclosure concerns; Factor 3 = Negative self-image; Factor 4 = Concern with public attitudes.