Purpose in life and breast health behavior in Hispanic and Anglo women

The purpose of the study was to determine relationships between purpose in life and breast health behavior in Hispanic and Anglo women. Differences in purpose in life and breast health behavior between the two ethnic groups were also explored. Reliability and validity of the Purpose in Life test as amended in English and translated into Spanish was addressed. Beginning reliability and validity of the researcher-developed Breast Wealth Behavior Questionnaire was determined.;The t-test and Pearson's r statistic were used for determining statistical significance at the.05 level. Cronbach's alpha tested for internal consistency reliability. Factor analysis was conducted on the BHBQ.;Findings showed no significant relationship between purpose in life and breast health behavior in Hispanic women. A significant relationship was found between purpose in life and breast health behavior in Anglo women. There was no significant difference in purpose in life scores in Hispanic and Anglo women. There was a significant difference in breast health behavior scores in Hispanic and Anglo women.;The Purpose in Life test as amended for this study, in its English version (n = 40), demonstrated a reliability coefficient of r =.8602. The Spanish version of the amended Purpose in Life test (n = 40) revealed an r of.7231.;Frankl's (1963) concept of purpose in life and Leventhal and Johnson's (1983) theory of self-regulation formed the theoretical framework for this study. The sample consisted of 40 Hispanic women and 40 Anglo women, age 20 and over, who attended a class at a public health department. Each subject completed the (a) Demographic Data Sheet (DDS), (b) Purpose in Life (PIL) test, and (c) the Breast Health Behavior Questionnaire (BHBQ).;The English version of the BHBQ (n = 40) demonstrated a reliability coefficient of.7314. The Spanish translation (n = 40) demonstrated a reliability coefficient of.6791. Factor analysis of the BHBQ revealed that 6 factors accounted for 68.56% of the cumulative total percentage variance.