Development and initial psychometric evaluation of a culturally- sensitive beliefs about personal weight survey

ABSTRACTDEVELOPMENT AND INITIAL PSYCHOMETRIC EVALUATION OFA CULTURALLY-SENSITIVE BELIEFS ABOUT PERSONAL WEIGHT SURVEYbySTEPHANIE PICKETTDecember 2012Advisor: Dr. Rosalind PetersMajor: NursingDegree: Doctor of PhilosophyThe purpose of this study was to develop and perform initial psychometric evaluation of an instrument that measures beliefs about personal weight in young African American women. Beliefs about personal weight were defined as a multidimensional concept consisting of the convictions regarding the descriptive characteristics, causal attributions, and consequences of one's personal weight. The theory of self-care (Orem, 2001) was used to conceptualize concepts and conceptual relationships.The Beliefs about Personal Weight Survey (BPW) was developed using three phases: phase one included item development and culturally sensitivity analysis; phase two included expert content validation, face validity and pretesting; and phase three included initial psychometric evaluation to establish beginning evidence of reliability and validity.The BPW was developed as a culturally-sensitive, norm-referenced survey with five-point likert responses with three domains, 16 composites from principle component analysis and 57 items. The BPW was evaluated in a non probability sample of 150 community-dwelling African American women. Results of the initial psychometric evaluation demonstrates that the BPW composites performed well with evidence of reliability and content, construct and criterion validity within and across the descriptor, cause, and consequence domains. The BPW composites also exhibited predictive ability for weight management behaviors (i.e., eating behaviors, physical activity) and actual weight.Key findings from this study indicate that African American women`s beliefs about the descriptors, causes and consequences of their personal weight is associated with weight management behaviors and actual weight. These findings have important implications for instrument development, theory development and clinical practice.