Abstract: Objective To translate The Skidmore Anxiety Stigma Scale (SASS) and test its reliability and validity. Methods The scale was translated withBrislin’s classic model for translation, and the Delphi method was used for cultural adjustment. A total of 405 participants with self-reported anxiety were randomly recruited from the Health Management Center of Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University to conduct a questionnaire survey. SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 26.0 were used for statistical analysis of the data to test the reliability and validity of the translated scale. Results There were 7 items in the Chinese version of SASS. The content validity index(S-CVI) was 0.902, and the content validity index of each item(I-CVI) 0.833~1.000. Two common factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis, and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 54.754%. The criterion validity showed that the scores of The Chinese Version of Skidmore Anxiety stigma Scale were moderately correlated with the scores of the Perceived Devaluation-Discrimination Scale and the Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help, with the correlation coefficients of 0.425 and -0.460 respectively. The Cronbach α coefficient of the scale was 0.719 and the retest reliability 0.855. Confirmatory factor analysis shows that the model fitted well. Conclusion The Chinese version of Skidmore Anxiety Stigma Scale has good reliability and validity, and it can be used as an investigation tool to evaluate the stigma of patients with anxiety in China.

Key words: anxiety, stigma, translation, reliability, validity