2001 WHRG Grant Program

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Symposia

Religiosity and Modesty in Jewish Women:
A Pilot Study
Caryn Andrews, ARNP, MSN
School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore

Background: The value of the role of culture in breast cancer screening is gaining increasing attention. Religiosity, as it relates to culture and health care, has also become an important variable to explore. Modesty, believed to be a dimension of religiosity as practiced by Jewish women, is an expression of their level of religiosity. This is a proposal for a pilot study to evaluate the relationship of modesty and religiosity.
Specific Aims: In a sample of Jewish women: 1) to develop and test an instrument to measure religion-based modesty, and 2) to pilot test the Multidimensional Measurement of Religiosity/Spirituality Questionnaire.
Study Design: This is a series of pilot studies. A cross-sectional, exploratory, descriptive study design will be used.
Method: This study will be conducted in phases. To develop and test an instrument to measure modesty, the following phases will be: Phase 1) identify attributes of religion-based modesty; Phase 2) Attributes identified will be written into statements (items) which respondents will sort as "most like me" to "least like me" using forced choice. Responses will be analyzed using the approach of Q methodology. The statements (items) which respondents load (factor) most significantly will form the basis for item development of an instrument to measure religion-based modesty. In Phase 3 the instrument will be developed, and the Multidimensional Measurement of Religiosity/Spirituality Questionnaire will be pilot tested and evaluated for reliability and validity in this population.
Sample & Setting: Purposive sampling will be used to assure a sample with diverse Jewish affiliation (Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform). Jewish women, over the age of 18, without a diagnosis of breast cancer are eligible to participate. For Phase 1 and 2, 15-20 women will be interviewed and will participate in the Q sort. For Phase 3, 30 Jewish women will pilot the instrument developed to measure modesty and the Multidimensional Measurement of Religiosity/Spirituality Questionnaire. In the pilot test, estimates of reliability and validity will be obtained for each instrument.
Implications: Whether or not a woman participates in breast cancer screening has been thought to be related to factors such as perceived susceptibility. The factor of modesty, although intuitively relevant, has yet to be measured and studied relative to breast cancer screening. In addition, although the effect of religiosity on health has been a well-researched area, multidimensional instruments to measure religiosity are inadequate. The Measure of Modesty and the Multidimensional Measurement of Religiosity/Spirituality, measuring the phenomenon of religion-based modesty and multidimensional religiosity, can be used in future studies exploring breast cancer screening adherence to explain more of the variance than that of current models, and to develop interventions which will improve breast cancer screening adherence.