Myths about Health and Abortion Scale (MHAS): design and psychometric properties in a Chilean community population

Abstract

Myths about health and abortion in Chile have been identified as a barrier to the implementation of Law 21.030 on the Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy. However, no measure adapted to the Chilean socio-cultural reality with adequate psychometric properties would allow us to verify the extent of misinformation. This study aims to design and analyze the psychometric properties of the Myths About Health and Abortion Scale (MHAS) in a Chilean community population. This study presents a sample of 613 participants. We obtained a unidimensional 5-item scale by cross-validity (χ2 = 21.702; df = 4; p < .001); RMSEA = .085 (90% CI [.052, .122]); CFI = .993; TLI = .982; GFI = .995) with adequate reliability of scores in the study sample (Sub-sample 1, McDonald's omega = .871; Sub-sample 2, McDonald's omega = .842); and evidence of validity in relation to other variables (e.g., the MHAS correlates with Sexual Double Standard (r = .354; p < .001), and Group Dominance (r = .307; p < .001), for use on the Chilean population. The most uninformed participants have a low education level, are older, have a conservative ideological profile in terms of religion and politics, and have a higher agreement with sexual double standards and social domination. This new approach allows us to quantify the issue of stigmatization and decision-making faced by women contemplating abortion, as well as to expose the deliberate dissemination of misinformation as a political strategy to oppose permissive abortion legislation.