Construction and Initial Validation of the Worldview Analysis Scale (WAS)

Abstract

This study describes the development of the Worldview Analysis Scale (WAS), an instrument designed to assess the way in which people perceive, think, feel, and experience the world. Four studies were conducted to describe the scale development of the WAS and to assess its psychometric properties. Eight hundred sixteen African, African American, European, European American, and multiethnic participants served as the validation sample. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence for seven subscales: materialistic universe, spiritual immortality, communalism, indigenous values, tangible realism, knowledge of self, and spiritualism. MANOVA analyses found evidence for cultural differences in worldview at the ethnic level of analysis. Results indicated favorable reliability, validity, and factor structure indices for the WAS. Applications of the WAS in culturally competent research, training, and psychotherapy are discussed.

Use of Indigenous African Healing Practices as a Mental Health Intervention

“…Intervention strategies can incorporate orality (mental), ritual (physical), and divination (spiritual), all of which represent healing beliefs originating from and designed to treat this cultural group (Myers et al, 2005). These interventions incorporate culturally congruent practices that are reflective of the worldview of African people (Obasi et al, 2009).…”

The Influence of Race-Related Stress on Eating Pathology: The Mediating Role of Depression and Moderating Role of Cultural Worldview Among Black American Women

“…Both Africentric and Eurocentric worldviews are viewed across several dimensions that include spiritualism versus materialism, collectivism versus individualism, harmony with nature versus control over nature, interdependence versus separateness, and strong versus weak religious orientation (Kambon, 2004;Obasi, Flores, & James-Myers, 2009). An optimal Africentric worldview is considered to involve strong religious belief systems, communalism, a collective social orientation, cognitive flexibility, and present time orientation (Jones, 2003;R.…”

“…The Worldview Analysis Scale. The Worldview Analysis Scale (WAS; Obasi, 2002) is a 45-item measure used to assess seven dimensions of worldview (i.e., materialistic universe, tangible realism, communalism, indigenous values, knowledge of self, spiritual immortality, and spiritualism). Items are scored on a 6-point Likert-type scale that range from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree).…”

The Roles of Race and Sex in Addiction Research

“…It is important to note that in the United States, some constructs based on race (racism, racialism, stereotypes, race-related stress, discrimination, prejudice, etc.) have meaning when addressing the stimulus value that physical features might have on attitude formulation and its subsequent impact on health (Obasi, Flores, and James-Myers, 2009). However, a racial level of analysis will have little to no utility in describing cultural phenomena that may have larger between-group (versus within-group) differences (Obasi, Flores, and James-Myers, 2009;Obasi and Leong, 2010).…”