Purpose: The current study aims to test perceived affiliate and courtesy stigma in Hubei province China during the early periods of COVID-19 by using network analysis.
Method: In this study, 4,591 participants (3,034 female, mean age = 26.64) from the Hubei Province of China were recruited to conduct network analysis.
Results: The network analysis found network connections between Estranged - Blamed, Shamed - No Strong Point, and Rejected - Plague were the strongest. The most important stigma features (nodes) of COVID-19 (i.e. Plague, No Strong Point, Discriminated, and Disgusting).
Discussion and conclusions: This study uncovered the most central features of perceived affiliate and courtesy stigma on COVID-19, proposing these features (and associations between features) could be prioritized for anti-stigma interventions for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords: Stigma; centrality; network analysis; stability; the brief measure of perceived courtesy and affiliate stigma on COVID-19.