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Stoic beliefs and health: development and preliminary validation of the Pathak-Wieten Stoicism Ideology Scale.

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION:We developed and validated a new parsimonious scale to measure stoic beliefs. Key domains of stoicism are imperviousness to strong emotions, indifference to death, taciturnity and self-sufficiency. In the context of illness and disease, a personal ideology of stoicism may create an internal resistance to objective needs, which can lead to negative consequences. Stoicism has been linked to help-seeking delays, inadequate pain treatment, caregiver strain and suicide after economic stress. METHODS:During 2013-2014, 390 adults aged 18+ years?completed a brief anonymous paper questionnaire containing the preliminary 24-item Pathak-Wieten Stoicism Ideology Scale (PW-SIS). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test an a priori multidomain theoretical model. Content validity and response distributions were examined. Sociodemographic predictors of strong endorsement of stoicism were explored with logistic regression. RESULTS:The final PW-SIS contains four conceptual domains and 12 items. CFA showed very good model fit: root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)=0.05 (95% CI 0.04 to 0.07), goodness-of-fit index=0.96?and Tucker-Lewis Index=0.93. Cronbach's alpha was 0.78 and ranged from 0.64 to 0.71 for the subscales. Content validity analysis showed a statistically significant trend, with respondents who reported trying to be a stoic 'all of the time' having the highest PW-SIS scores. Men were over two times as likely as women to fall into the top quartile of responses (OR=2.30, 95%?CI 1.44 to 3.68, P<0.001). ORs showing stronger endorsement of stoicism by Hispanics, Blacks and biracial persons were not statistically significant. DISCUSSION:The PW-SIS is a valid and theoretically coherent scale which is brief and practical for integration into a wide range of health behaviour and outcomes research studies.

SUBMITTER: Pathak EB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5695468 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Stoic beliefs and health: development and preliminary validation of the Pathak-Wieten Stoicism Ideology Scale.

Pathak Elizabeth B EB Wieten Sarah E SE Wheldon Christopher W CW

BMJ open 20171114 11

<h4>Introduction</h4>We developed and validated a new parsimonious scale to measure stoic beliefs. Key domains of stoicism are imperviousness to strong emotions, indifference to death, taciturnity and self-sufficiency. In the context of illness and disease, a personal ideology of stoicism may create an internal resistance to objective needs, which can lead to negative consequences. Stoicism has been linked to help-seeking delays, inadequate pain treatment, caregiver strain and suicide after econ ...[more]

PMID: 29138193

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Dataset Information

Stoic beliefs and health: development and preliminary validation of the Pathak-Wieten Stoicism Ideology Scale.

Publications

Stoic beliefs and health: development and preliminary validation of the Pathak-Wieten Stoicism Ideology Scale.

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