Table 3

The Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Health Belief Questionnaire (CHBQ): Items means, standard deviations, item-total correlations, validity coefficients, and coefficient alphas if the item is deleted from the composite scale score. Data for three successive classes of medical students.

Item Content

Mean^a

Standard Deviation

Item-Total Correlation^b

Validity Coefficient^c

Alpha if Item is Deleted^d

The physical and mental health are maintained by an underlying energy or vital force.

4.4

1.6

.57

.47

.70

Health and disease are a reflection of balance between positive life-enhancing forces and negative destructive forces.

4.3

1.5

.56

.39

.71

The body is essentially self-healing and the task of a health care provider is to assist in the healing process.

4.7

1.5

.36

.25

.74

A patient's symptoms should be regarded as a manifestation of a general imbalance or dysfunction affecting the whole body.

4.6

1.4

.49

.34

.72

A patient's expectations, health beliefs and values should be integrated into the patient care process.

5.9

1.3

.23

.35

.75

Complementary therapies are a threat to public health.^e

5.5

1.5

.37

.57

.74

Treatments not tested in a scientifically recognized manner should be discouraged.^e

4.1

1.6

.27

.32

.75

Effects of complementary therapies are usually the result of a placebo effect.^e

4.5

1.4

.33

.44

.74

Complementary therapies include ideas and methods from which conventional medicine could benefit.

5.4

1.3

.45

.53

.73

Most complementary therapies stimulate the body's natural therapeutic powers.

4.5

1.3

.50

.33

.72

^a All items used a 7-point response scale, with 1 = "Absolutely Disagree" and 7 = "Absolutely Agree." ^b Product-moment correlation corrected by excluding the item score from the total score. All correlations are statistically significant (p < .0005). ^c Product-moment correlation using IMAQ scale score as the criteria score. All correlations are statistically significant (p < .0005). ^d Some statistics calculated with student sample size < 272 because of missing data. ^e Item responses were reverse scored so a higher value indicated greater endorsement.

Lie and Boker BMC Medical Education 2004 4:2   doi:10.1186/1472-6920-4-2