title: Development and validation of a religious health fatalism measure for the African-American faith community.
abstract: Health researchers struggle to understand barriers to improving health in the African-American community. The African-American church is one of the most promising venues for health promotion, disease prevention, and disparities reduction. Religious fatalism, the belief that health outcomes are inevitable and/or determined by God, may inhibit healthy behaviors for a subset of religious persons. This study reports the development and validation of the Religious Health Fatalism Questionnaire, a measurement tool for studying faith-related health beliefs in African-Americans. Participants included 276 members of seven predominantly African-American churches. Factor analysis indicated three dimensions: (1) Divine Provision; (2) Destined Plan; and (3) Helpless Inevitability. Evidence is presented for the reliability, convergent and predictive validity of the Religious Health Fatalism Questionnaire.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, USA. monica.d.franklin@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: Monica D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Franklin
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Schlundt
authors.forename: Kenneth A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Wallston
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012067:Religion; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*