Disparities in breast cancer mortality continue, with a higher proportion of African American women dying from the disease than other women. Health communications attempt to educate women on the benefits of early detection. These interventions are most effective when they address people’s beliefs, attitudes, and lifestyle. It has been suggested that health communication interventions should address beliefs such as health locus of control (beliefs about what determines health). There is evidence from the scientific literature that spirituality is an important component of these beliefs for African Americans. As a spiritual population on the whole, this group may be likely to view control over health as the result of a higher power (i.e., God). If spiritual health locus of control beliefs are important, they should be reflected in health education materials targeted toward African Americans. However, instruments that measure health locus of control do not address belief in spiritual control. The purpose of the present study was to develop two scales, one assessing internal and one assessing spiritual health locus of control beliefs, for use with low-income African American women. Evidence for sound psychometric properties (i.e., internal reliability, construct validity) of these instruments was revealed using structural equation modeling. Both the internal and spiritual scales exhibited predictive validity, relating to mammography benefits, barriers, and knowledge. These scales provide a brief, straightforward way of assessing health locus of control beliefs, and are culturally appropriate for African Americans. Implications for the development of effective health communication interventions for this population are discussed.
Learning Objectives: 1. Recognize the importance of spiritual health locus of control beliefs in African American women, a largely ignored construct in health locus of control theory and measurement. 2. Examine the association between these beliefs and behavioral precursors to mammography in this population. 3. Convey the importance of addressing spiritual health locus of control beliefs in health communication for African American women.
Keywords: Health Communications, Assessments
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