Devaluation-Discrimination Scale (DSS, Link)
Psychology: Mental HealthReliability: alpha 0.863 sample items
About this scale
A 12-item measure of perceived public stigma toward people with mental illness, capturing devaluation and discrimination beliefs. Used widely in workplace mental-health research.
Sample item(s)
“Most people would willingly accept a former mental patient as a close friend (reverse)”
“Most employers will hire a former mental patient if he or she is qualified for the job (reverse)”
“Most people think less of a person who has been in a mental hospital”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.86. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Free for academic use.
Source & citation
Link, B. G., Cullen, F. T., Struening, E., Shrout, P. E., & Dohrenwend, B. P. (1989): A modified labeling theory approach to mental disorders: An empirical assessment. American Sociological Review, Vol. 54, No. 3, pp. 400–423.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
Use it in your research
Need to check the reliability or psychometrics of this scale in your own data? Use the free DrAIStudio research tools:
Cronbach’s alpha calculator
All statistical calculators
Search the full Scale Atlas
Academic writing humanizer