Our tests of construct validity revealed interesting findings. Our main effects models found an inverse relationship between PAS and both measures among unaffected persons, although the effect was small. Perhaps, self-reports of PAS may be confounded with variables associated with lower social support and social network involvement, which is not possible to disentangle in cross-sectional data. As well, potentially confounding variables, such as neuroticism, should be considered as control variables when assessing self-reports of stigma (Link et al. 2004; Major et al. 2002).
