Parental Health Attributions of Childhood Health and Illness: Development of the Pediatric Cultural Health Attributions Questionnaire (Pedi-CHAQ).

The causes attributed to childhood health and illness across cultures (cultural health attributions) are key factors that are now more frequently identified as affecting the health outcomes of children. Research suggests that the causes attributed to an event such as illness are thought to affect subsequent motivation, emotional response, decision making, and behavior. To date, there is no measure of health attributions appropriate for use with parents of pediatric patients. Using the Many-Facets approach to Rasch analysis, this study assesses the psychometrics of a newly developed instrument, the Pediatric Health Attributions Questionnaire (Pedi-CHAQ), a measure designed to assess the cultural health attributions of parents in diverse communities. Results suggest acceptable Rasch model statistics of fit and reliability for the Pedi-CHAQ. A shortened version of the questionnaire was developed as a result of this study and next steps are discussed.