P-560 Stigma related to male infertility in China: a scale development and validation study

Abstract

Abstract Study question Is it possible to develop a trustworthy instrument to evaluate the infertile men's stigma and to document fully all methodological steps, including validation? Summary answer The Male Infertility Stigma Scale (MISS) has been developed to evaluate the stigma status of infertile men with a good reliability and validity. What is known already Infertile men regard childless as a hidden stigma, which influence all the dimensions of their lives and well-being. Most instruments focus exclusively on women and no questionnaires have been directed at infertile men. Study design, size, duration A cross-sectional study was conducted to analyse the validity and reliability of MISS. This was a one-centre study in the Center of Reproductive Medicine of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University between January 2019 to May 2019. Participants/materials, setting, methods This study was carried out on men (n = 432) with a diagnosis and treatment for male-factor infertility. Item generation and reduction of MISS was formed by combining literature review, interviews of experts and patients, and related scale. Exploratory factor analysis (n = 216) and confirmatory factor analysis (n = 216) were performed to indicate the scale constructs. In addition, reliability analyses including internal consistency and test–retest analysis (n = 18)were carried out. Validity was analyzed by convergent validity and content validity. Main results and the role of chance This study developed a 18-item MISS with three dimensions (social marginalization, self-devaluation, psychological insecurity). Exploratory factor analysis indicated that these three dimensions explained 60.14% of total variances.The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the construct of the MISS fitted well with the hypothetical model. The Cronbach's α,split-half coefficient and test–retest correlation coefficient for the whole scale was 0.951, 0.884,and 0.945, respectively. The associations of the MISS with other measure suggested good convergent validity. The Content Validity Index (CVI) was 0.988. Limitations, reasons for caution The reliability and validity of the MISS developed in this study were verified only among the infertility men in Guangzhou and the discriminant validity of dimension 3(psychological insecurity) in this survey was a little poor. The convenience sampling method precluded the validity and generalization of the conclusions. Wider implications of the findings This study may create an effective evaluation measurement to understand the stigma status of infertile men. Future studies should focus on using the MISS in larger samples with different characterizations, such as different areas, and then taking some measures to help them . Trial registration number None