title: Developing a measure to assess attitudes toward epilepsy in the US population.
abstract: The aim of this study was to develop an instrument to measure the US public's attitudes toward people with epilepsy and to assess the initial reliability and validity of the instrument. A 46-item attitudinal instrument was developed and tested using a proportional, stratified, national, random-digit dial household telephone survey of adults aged > or = 18 (n=758). Exploratory factor analyses revealed four underlying constructs that accounted for 34.4% of the variance in the factor analysis: negative stereotypes (alpha=0.73); risk and safety concerns (alpha=0.85); work and role expectations (alpha=0.76); and personal fear and social avoidance (alpha=0.79). Knowledge was also assessed; participants with less knowledge about epilepsy had more negative attitudes. The results of these analyses provided evidence for reliability and construct validity of the instrument. Additional tests of the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the scales are necessary to refine the instrument.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Colleen A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Diiorio
authors.forename: Rosemarie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kobau
authors.forename: E Wayne
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Holden
authors.forename: Judith M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Berkowitz
authors.forename: Stephanie L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Kamin
authors.forename: Richard F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Antonak
authors.forename: Joan K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Austin
authors.forename: Gus A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Laurie J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Bauman
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gilliam
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Thurman
authors.forename: Patricia H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Price
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003625:Data Collection; D003710:Demography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011153:Population; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012306:Risk; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014894:Weights and Measures