Firmin, Ruth L.Lysaker, Paul H.McGrew, John H.Minor, Kyle S.Luther, LaurenSalyers, Michelle P.2017-11-162017-11-162017-11Firmin, R. L., Lysaker, P. H., McGrew, J. H., Minor, K. S., Luther, L., & Salyers, M. P. (2017). The Stigma Resistance Scale: A multi-sample validation of a new instrument to assess mental illness stigma resistance. Psychiatry Research, 258, pp 37-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.09.063https://hdl.handle.net/1805/14564Although associated with key recovery outcomes, stigma resistance remains under-studied largely due to limitations of existing measures. This study developed and validated a new measure of stigma resistance. Preliminary items, derived from qualitative interviews of people with lived experience, were pilot tested online with people self-reporting a mental illness diagnosis (n = 489). Best performing items were selected, and the refined measure was administered to an independent sample of people with mental illness at two state mental health consumer recovery conferences (n = 202). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) guided by theory were used to test item fit, correlations between the refined stigma resistance measure and theoretically relevant measures were examined for validity, and test-retest correlations of a subsample were examined for stability. CFA demonstrated strong fit for a 5-factor model. The final 20-item measure demonstrated good internal consistency for each of the 5 subscales, adequate test-retest reliability at 3 weeks, and strong construct validity (i.e., positive associations with quality of life, recovery, and self-efficacy, and negative associations with overall symptoms, defeatist beliefs, and self-stigma). The new measure offers a more reliable and nuanced assessment of stigma resistance. It may afford greater personalization of interventions targeting stigma resistance.enPublisher Policymental illnessinternalized stigmaself-stigmaArticle