The Social Distance Scale (v1): A Screening Instrument to Assess Patient Adherence to Prevention Strategies during Pandemics

Background: This paper describes the development of a brief self-report screening measure of adherence to social distancing and self-protective behaviors in pandemic situations. Items measured behaviors currently established as primary strategies to prevent and reduce the spread of the COVID-19 infection. Methods: An item pool of 29 questions was generated with the aim of estimating the frequency of specific behaviors and were written to avoid confounding the description of behavioral actions with evaluative judgements. Responses were collected from 401 young adults using an anonymous online survey. Results: An Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted with the purpose of item reduction and subscale development. A 14-item Social Distance Scale emerged, consisting of four subscales: Isolation from Community (IC), Work from Home (WH), Family Contact (FC), and Protective Behaviors (PB). The initial psychometric evaluation of the scales indicated adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. (4) Conclusions: The Social Distance Scale (v1) is a promising new instrument which may be applied at the population or individual level. It may be used in conjunction with COVID-19 testing to measure interactions between social distancing factors and transmission. In addition, a reliable screening measure has utility for health service providers to assess patient risk and to provide educational/counseling.

Download Full-text

STEREOTYPES IN YOUNG SERBS ABOUT CROATS AND BOSNIAKS PROVOKED BY COLLECTIVE MEMORY STIMULI

Primenjena psihologija ◽

10.19090/pp.2017.4.437-462 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 437

Author(s):

Tijana Karić ◽

Vladimir Mihić ◽

José Ángel Ruiz Jiménez

Keyword(s):

National Identity ◽

Collective Memory ◽

Social Distance ◽

Experimental Approach ◽

Distance Scale ◽

Collective Memories ◽

Social Distance Scale ◽

Demographic Questionnaire ◽

The Social ◽

Quasi Experimental

Not many studies have dealt with how Serbs from Serbia see Croats and Bosniaks in the light of the wars from 1990s. In our study, we used a quasi-experimental approach to assess the type of stereotypes provoked in Serbs, and their relationship to social distance and the national identity. The sample consisted of 66 participants of Serbian ethnicity, born between 1991 and 1995, who are residing in Serbia. The instruments included Social Distance Scale, National Identity Scale, socio-demographic questionnaire and a set of collective memory stimuli followed by a set of questions. As stimuli, we used shortened versions of collective memories as described by Ruiz Jiménez (2013), in order to set a context which referred to the 1990s wars. The results have shown that the described stimuli have impactneither on stereotypes nor on the social distance and the national identity of participants. However, the social distance is lower than in previous studies in the region, and Croats are consistently seen in more negative terms than Bosniaks and Serbs.

Download Full-text

The Social Distance Scale, Emory S. Bogardus and Californian Interwar Migration Research Offside the Chicago School

Journal of Migration History ◽

10.1163/23519924-00102003 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 200-214

Author(s):

Claudia Roesch

Keyword(s):

Los Angeles ◽

Social Distance ◽

Chicago School ◽

Distance Scale ◽

Reciprocal Relationship ◽

University Of Southern California ◽

Social Distance Scale ◽

Migration Research ◽

The Social ◽

The University

This paper investigates the Social Distance Scale as a method to measure the degree of resentment towards immigrant groups invented by the University of Southern California sociologist Emory S. Bogardus. It asks why it is the only theory emerging from the orbit of the Chicago School still in use today. First, it looks at how Bogardus’s research environment in Los Angeles differed from that of his mentor Robert E. Park in Chicago. Then, it examines how Bogardus’s involvement with the Methodist All Nations Foundation influenced his conceptualisation of social distance. Third, it asks how this approach differed methodologically from the Chicago School’s Assimilation Theory. It concludes that the reciprocal relationship between Bogardus’s research and his social involvement caused him to dissolve the scale from spatial and temporal settings and create a theory that became universally applicable.

Download Full-text

Attitude to and social distance from schizophrenic patients as forms of stigmatization, investigated by a group of medical professionals and a group of non-professional subjects

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.845 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. S571-S572

Author(s):

G. Grbesa ◽

M. Simonovic ◽

M. Stankovic

Keyword(s):

Social Distance ◽

Semantic Differential ◽

Distance Scale ◽

Semantic Differential Scale ◽

Medical Professionals ◽

Mental Patients ◽

Social Distance Scale ◽

The Social ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Schizophrenic Patients

IntroductionThe attitude to schizophrenic patients has always been considered a significant indicator of stigmatization of mental patients. The social aspect of stigmatization involves the social distance when speaking about the attitudes towards mental patients. The social distance is defined as “a various degree of understanding and feelings existing among the groups”.ObjectivesThe investigation included 120 participants divided into two groups. The first group included 60 participants; psychiatrists (38) directly involved in treating schizophrenia and 28 nurses working in wards where schizophrenic patients were treated. The second group of 60 participants included non-professionals divided according to age and gender to match the experiment group.AimsInvestigating the correlation between the proclaimed attitudes to and social distance from schizophrenic patients: medical professionals and non-professional subjects.MethodsSemantic differential scale was used to examine the personal attitudes towards a stigmatized group. To examine social distance, the modified Bogardus Social was used.ResultsThe results obtained using the Semantic differential scale to examine the attitudes did not show statistically significant score difference between the two groups of patients Bogardus Social Distance Scale score showed statistically significant difference (P > 0.03). A significant score on the scale of social distance can be recognized in both psychiatry professionals and non-professionals.ConclusionStratification of items on the social distance scale shows a great social distance in the sphere of intimacy and slightly lower score on the level of social relations. The group having competent knowledge concerning the disease shows sophisticated way of hiding behind professional reasons.Disclosure of InterestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Download Full-text

EXPERIENCE OF APPLICATION OF THE MODIFIED BOGARDUS SCALE IN THE STUDY OF INTERETHNIC TOLERANCE

PRIMO ASPECTU ◽

10.35211/2500-2635-2021-4-48-21-26 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 21-26

Author(s):

Alexander V. Grigoriev ◽

Yulia G. Mironova

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

High School Students ◽

Ethnic Groups ◽

Social Distance ◽

Distance Scale ◽

Sociological Study ◽

School Students ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative ◽

Social Distance Scale ◽

The Social

The article is devoted to the analysis of the influence on the results of a sociological study of the use of various forms of questions: open and closed on the example of the study of interethnic tolerance of high school students. The study was conducted using the traditional social distance scale developed by Emory Bogardus and its modified form as an open-ended question. The authors come to the conclusion that there are no significant quantitative (the value of the social distance scale) and qualitative (the composition of nationalities, about which the opinions of the respondents and the vector of attitudes towards them are updated) differences in the data collected using open and closed questions. At the same time, it is noted that the specifics of the respondents' answers to open-ended questions became a more positive (in accordance with both qualitative and quantitative criteria) attitude towards European ethnic groups, at the same time, a large social distance versus closed-ended questions. Another distinguishing feature of the answers to the open-ended question was the radicalism of views and less social distance to representatives of other peoples in general.

Download Full-text

Mexican-American and White Reactions to Stimulus Persons of Same and Different Race: Similarity and Attraction as a Function of Prejudice

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1975.36.3.827 ◽

1975 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 827-833 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

James B. Goebel ◽

Steven G. Cole

Keyword(s):

Social Distance ◽

Mexican American ◽

Stimulus Person ◽

Distance Scale ◽

Social Distance Scale ◽

The Social ◽

Significant Difference

44 Mexican-American Ss and 44 white Ss in grade 9 rated a white and a Mexican-American stimulus person whose beliefs were unknown on a Similarity, Friendliness, and Social Distance Scale. High- and low-prejudiced Ss were identified by scores on the Social Distance Scale. The high-prejudiced white Ss perceived the white stimulus person as significantly more similar to themselves and reported that they would be significantly more friendly toward that person than toward the Mexican-American stimulus person. No significant difference was obtained for the high-prejudiced Mexican-American Ss' ratings of the Mexican-American and white stimulus persons for either similarity or friendliness or for ratings of low-prejudiced Ss, either white or Mexican-American. Ratings on similarity and friendliness were generally correlated for both Mexican-American and white Ss when level of prejudice was ignored. When level of prejudice was considered, ratings were significantly correlated for high-prejudiced Ss but not for low-prejudiced Ss.

Download Full-text

Stigma: Dimensions and Correlates In A Multi-Ethnic Population

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.1933 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S522-S522

Author(s):

M. Subramaniam ◽

E. Abdin ◽

L. Picco ◽

S. Pang ◽

S. Shafie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Alcohol Abuse ◽

Social Distance ◽

Distance Scale ◽

Lower Income ◽

Stigma Scale ◽

Income Status ◽

Personal Stigma ◽

Social Distance Scale ◽

The Social

IntroductionMental health stigma is a multidimensional concept that encompasses many different themes and definitions. Public stigma is defined as the degree to which the general public holds negative views and discriminates against a specific group.ObjectiveTo understand the context and correlates of stigma in multi-ethnic Singapore.AimsThe current study aimed to (i) explore the factor structure of the Depression Stigma Scale and the Social Distance Scale using an exploratory structural equation modelling approach and (ii) examine the correlates of the identified dimensions of stigma in the general population of Singapore.MethodsData for the current study came from a larger nation-wide cross-sectional study of mental health literacy conducted in Singapore. All respondents were administered the Personal and Perceived scales of the Depression Stigma Scale and the Social Distance scale to measure personal stigma and social distance respectively.ResultsThe findings from the factor analysis revealed that personal stigma formed two distinct dimensions comprising “Weak-not-Sick” and “Dangerous/Unpredictable” components while social distance stigma items loaded strongly into a single factor. Those of Malay and Indian ethnicity, lower education, lower income status and those who were administered the depression and alcohol abuse vignette were significantly associated with higher weak-not-sick scores. Those of Indian ethnicity, 6 years of education and below, lower income status and those who were administered the alcohol abuse vignette were significantly associated with higher dangerous/unpredictable scores.ConclusionThere is a need for well-planned and culturally relevant anti-stigma campaigns in this population.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Download Full-text