The Fertility Belief Questionnaire (FBQ)

Objectives: The experience of infertility in Africa is associated with some cultural beliefs that warrant scientific investigations. However, the quantitative exploration of these beliefs has been problematic because of lack of psychometric instruments to measure beliefs about infertility. The purpose of this study was to develop the Fertility Belief Questionnaire (FBQ) based on the constructs of the Common Sense Model (CSM) and examine the content and construct validity of the FBQ. Materials & Methods: The FBQ was developed based on a revision of an existing revised illness perception questionnaire (Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised [IPQ-R]). Some items of the IPQ-R were deleted and others were added based on findings of a pilot study, literature review, and suggestions from an expert panel who evaluated the content validity of the FBQ. A Scale Content Validity Index (S-CVI) for each sub-scale of the FBQ was calculated by averaging the I-CVIs for individual items over the total number of expert and lay panel members. To evaluate the construct validity, a confirmatory factor analysis, composite reliability and internal consistency reliability testing were conducted. Results: The final FBQ is made up of a total of 57 items and six sub-scales with good construct validity. Three sub-scales had reliabilities ranging from 0.71 to 0.80 while two sub-scales had reliabilities less than 0.70. Conclusion: The FBQ has shown acceptable psychometric properties that will enable the examination of relationships between beliefs and psychosocial health problems of infertility.