Illness Beliefs Regarding the Causes of Diabetes Among Latino College Students

Abstract

This study examined the validity of the Klonoff and Landrine (1994) illness-belief scale when applied to Latino college students (n=156; 34% male, 66% female) at high-risk for future diabetes onset. Principal factor analysis yielded four significant factors – emotional, folk-beliefs, punitive, gene/hereditary – which accounted for 64.5% of variance and provided a culturally-relevant Latino perspective of the causes of diabetes. Additional analyses by age, gender, immigrant status and psychological acculturation revealed significant differences by age on the emotional and folk illness factors and a negative correlation between assimilation and endorsement of the emotional factor. The implication of these four illness factors for predicting health-related behaviors and health-outcomes among young Latinos was discussed as were recommendations for future research.

To What Factors Do Rural-Dwelling Hispanics Attribute Depressive Symptoms?

“…Based on the existing literature [12, 13], we identified four primary domains to which Mexican-Americans tend to attribute symptoms of physical and mental illness—genetic/biological factors, social/interpersonal factors, economic factors, and cultural factors. Thirteen items were selected by the primary clinician (BN) to encompass these factors in consultation with other clinical practitioners in Imperial County, and consensus was achieved regarding choice of these items.…”

Susto, Coraje, y Fatalismo: Cultural-Bound Beliefs and the Treatment of Diabetes Among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Hispanics

“…Several emotions are believed to cause diabetes among Hispanics. 7 Susto (fright) is defined as a condition of intense emotion felt after experiencing a traumatic event, such as a car accident or the death of a child that—according to tradition—makes the soul leave the body. 8 After experiencing susto , it may take from days to years for symptoms of diabetes to develop.…”

Psychometric Evaluation of the Spanish Versions of the Perceived Religious Influence on Health Behavior Scale and the Illness as Punishment for Sin Scale in a Sample of Churchgoing Latinas

“…In Latino culture, God is also used to make meaning of illness. The phrase “si Dios quiere” which can be translated to “if it is God’s will” is a commonly used expression that demonstrates the important and widespread belief: about God’s role in health and illness in Latino culture (Santos, Hurtado-Ortiz, & Sneed, 2009). Although conceptual models have been developed linking religious beliefs to health, few studies have empirically tested whether different religious beliefs mediate the relationship between religious involvement and health (Holt et al, 2009).…”