Common Sense Illness Beliefs of Diabetes Among At-Risk Latino College Students

Authors

  • Silvia J. Santos
  • Maria T. Hurtado-Ortiz
  • Laurenne Lewis
  • Julia Ramirez-Garcia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47779/ajhs.2015.165

Keywords:

Common sense illness beliefs, diabetes, health beliefs, Latino college students

Abstract

This study examined the validity of the Implicit Model of Illness Questionnaire (IMIQ - Schiaffino & Cea, 1995) when used with Latino college students (n = 156; 34% male, 66% female) who are at-risk for developing diabetes due to family history of this disease. An exploratory principal-axis factor analysis yielded four significant factors – curability, personal responsibility, symptom variability/seriousness, and personal attributions – which accounted for 35% of variance and reflected a psychosocial-biomedical common sense perspective of diabetes. Factor-based analyses revealed differences in diabetes illness beliefs based on students’ age, generational status, acculturation orientation, and disease experience of the afflicted relative.

Author Biographies

Silvia J. Santos

Silvia J. Santos, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, California State University, Dominguez Hills, 1000 E. Victoria Street, Carson, CA 90747; Phone: 310-243-347508; Fax: 310-515-3642

Maria T. Hurtado-Ortiz

Maria T. Hurtado-Ortiz Ph.D. California State University, Dominguez Hills

Laurenne Lewis

Laurenne Lewis Department of Children & Family Services

Julia Ramirez-Garcia

Julia Ramirez-Garcia M.A., Casa de la Familia.

Published

2020-11-15

How to Cite

Santos, S., Hurtado-Ortiz, M., Lewis, L., & Ramirez-Garcia, J. (2020). Common Sense Illness Beliefs of Diabetes Among At-Risk Latino College Students. American Journal of Health Studies, 30(1). https://doi.org/10.47779/ajhs.2015.165