Parental Health Belief Scales – PHBS
Measures parents' health locus of control and beliefs regarding the factors that influence their children's health.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Parental Health Belief Scales – PHBS was developed by Barbara J. Tinsley (1990). It is designed to measure Parental Health Locus of Control. The scale is intended for use with Parents.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 30 items organized into 4 factors/subscales: Chance/Fate, Internal Control, Powerful Others, Supernatural/Divine.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Chance/Fate | 1,2,3,5,6,7,11,13,26,30 | 10 |
| Internal Control | 8,12,14,16,20,23,25,27 | 8 |
| Powerful Others | 4,9,10,15,17,19,21,24 | 8 |
| Supernatural/Divine | 18,22,28,29 | 4 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Strongly agree, 2 = Agree, 3 = No opinion, 4 = Disagree, 5 = Strongly disagree.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 30 to 150. Interpretation guidelines:
- Strong overall agreement with health belief dimensions: 30 – 70
- Moderate overall agreement with health belief dimensions: 71 – 110
- Weak overall agreement with health belief dimensions: 111 – 150
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach's alpha ranges from 0.68 to 0.82 across subscales.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.