The Illusory Health Beliefs Scale: preliminary validation using exploratory factor and Rasch analysis

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Illusory health beliefs are erroneous notions about well-being with significant impacts on attitudes and behaviors.
• Paranormal beliefs are prevalent, necessitating tools to understand related health cognitions.
• Previous scales like the Paranormal Health Beliefs Scale (PHBS) were adapted for broader illusory health beliefs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To psychometrically assess and validate the emergent Illusory Health Beliefs Scale (IHBS).
• To confirm the IHBS's reliability and validity in measuring illusory health beliefs within a large, representative sample.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the dimensions of the IHBS.
• Convergent validity was assessed by correlating IHBS scores with measures of magical thinking, faith in unsubstantiated notions, and intuitive causation.
• Rasch analysis was employed to evaluate item and person fit, unidimensionality, and subgroup equivalency.

Main Results:

• Exploratory factor analysis identified six dimensions: Religious/Spiritual, Superstition, Precognitive, Health Myths, Skepticism, and Health Pseudoscience.
• The IHBS demonstrated satisfactory reliability and convergent validity with associated constructs.
• Rasch analysis confirmed good item/person fit, reliability, unidimensionality, and subgroup equivalency.

Conclusions:

• The Illusory Health Beliefs Scale (IHBS) is an effective and validated instrument for measuring illusory health beliefs.
• The scale shows good psychometric properties, including reliability and validity across different subgroups.
• Further research is recommended to refine the IHBS and assess its performance in diverse samples and over time.