American Indian Health Beliefs

People

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of cultural identification on the utility of the Health Belief Model (HBM) with American Indians, given that marked differences exist between American Indian and Euro-American culture regarding the nature of health and illness. Participants in the study included 202 students recruited from the campus of Oklahoma State University who identified themselves as either American Indian or Caucasian. Participants were placed in one of two experimental conditions. In each condition they received information about two real illnesses and one fictional illness they were led to believe was real, but the nature of the fictional illness varied by condition. Participants then rated their likelihood to engage in health behaviors related to each illness. Participants also completed a Cultural Identification Scale. Primary analyses indicated that there were no differences in health behaviors between Caucasian and American Indian students, suggesting that the HBM is applicable to American Indians. However, exploratory analyses revealed that the participants in the American Indian sample tended to be highly acculturated to Euro-American culture and may not be representative of more traditional American Indians. Furthermore the American Indian sample consisted specifically of non-reservation Indians. Because there are a growing number of American Indians who do not live on reservations, identify themselves as bicultural, and/or attend college. The results of the study are therefore important in understanding the health behaviors of these subgroups of American Indians.