Parental Health Belief Scales – PHBS
Measures parents' beliefs regarding the locus of control and factors influencing their children's health.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Parental Health Belief Scales – PHBS was developed by Barbara J. Tinsley (2003). It is designed to measure Parental Health Locus of Control. The scale is intended for use with Parents and caregivers.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 30 items organized into 6 factors/subscales: Chance, Helplessness, Powerful Others, Internal Control, External/Societal, Supernatural/Fate.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Chance | 1,3,5,7,13 | 5 |
| Helplessness | 2,6,11,26,30 | 5 |
| Powerful Others | 4,10,15,19,24 | 5 |
| Internal Control | 8,12,14,16,20,23,25,27 | 8 |
| External/Societal | 9,17,21 | 3 |
| Supernatural/Fate | 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 agreement with external/chance health beliefs: 30 – 70
- Moderate agreement with external/chance health beliefs: 71 – 110
- Weak agreement with external/chance health beliefs (High internal locus of control): 111 – 150
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Not specified.
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.