Assessment of social stigma among multiple sclerosis patients in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Article Figures & Data

Table 1

- Personal characteristics of multiple sclerosis patients, Saudi Arabia.

Table 2

- RSS-MS scale responses from patients with MS.

RSS-MS items	Never		Rarely		Sometimes		Often		Always
RSS-MS items	No	(%)	No	(%)	No	(%)	No	(%)	No	(%)
Felt that having MS¹ was a punishment for things I had done in the past.	169	(44.4)	74	(19.4)	110	(28.9)	20	(5.2)	8	(2.1)
Felt that people were avoiding me because of my MS	189	(49.6)	62	(16.3)	85	(22.3)	29	(7.6)	16	(4.2)
Feared that I would lose my friends if they found out about having MS	206	(54.1)	50	(13.1)	76	(19.9)	33	(8.7)	16	(4.2)
Felt like people that I know were treating me differently because of my MS	85	(22.3)	57	(15.0)	131	(34.4)	60	(15.7)	48	(12.6)
Felt like people look down on me because I have MS	230	(60.4)	55	(14.4)	58	(15.2)	25	(6.6)	13	(3.4)
Avoided dating because most people don’t want a relationship with someone with MS.	185	(48.6)	47	(12.3)	85	(22.3)	37	(9.7)	27	(7.1)
Avoided a situation because I was worried about people knowing I have MS	150	(39.4)	46	(12.1)	120	(31.5)	33	(8.7)	32	(8.4)
Was embarrassed about having MS	189	(49.6)	47	(12.3)	94	(24.7)	33	(8.7)	18	(4.7)
Felt that keeping my MS a secret was important	105	(27.6)	47	(12.3)	93	(24.4)	63	(16.5)	73	(19.2)
Overall score (Range; (Mean ± SD); % of maximum)	9-45 (20.0 ± 8.2); 44.4%

MS - multiple sclerosis

Table 3

- Item loadings, eigenvalue, and variance for the final 1-factor RSS-MS solution.

Items	Factor loading
Felt that having MS1 was a punishment for things I had done in the past.	.51
Felt that people were avoiding me because of my MS	.78
Feared that I would lose my friends if they found out about having MS	.89
Felt like people that I know were treating me differently because of my MS	.70
Felt like people look down on me because I have MS	.82
Avoided dating because most people don’t want a relationship with someone with MS.	.77
Avoided a situation because I was worried about people knowing I have MS	.80
Was embarrassed about having MS	.81
Felt that keeping my MS a secret was important	.55
Eigenvalue	4.9
Variance (cumulative)	54.8%

MS - multiple sclerosis

Table 4

- Factors associated with MS patient’s stigma score and reported differences.

Factors	N	RSS-MS scores		P-value
Factors	N	Mean	SD	P-value
Region				.001^*
Central region	77	18.4	7.7
Northern region	25	25.5	10.0
Eastern region	123	17.3	7.2
Western region	144	22.2	8.1
Southern region	12	19.9	7.3
Age in years				.001^*^{^}
< 25	105	23.3	8.8
26-50	239	18.0	7.3
51-65	37	23.7	7.8
Gender				.604^{^}
Male	150	20.3	7.8
Female	231	19.8	8.4
Marital status				.011^*^{^}
Single	199	21.0	8.3
Married	182	18.9	8.0
Educational level				.144
Below secondary	25	23.1	9.6
Secondary	112	20.5	8.7
University	214	19.4	7.8
Post-graduate	30	19.9	7.5
Employment				.049^*
Unemployed	186	20.0	8.9
Employed	158	19.4	7.2
Retired	37	22.5	8.4