Caricati, L.
Power of Genetics: Adaptation and Validation of a Scale for Measuring Belief in Genetic Determinism (BGD) with Classical Test Analysis and Rasch Analysis
This study presents the adaptation and validation of a scale for measuring the Belief in Genetic Determinism (BGD; Keller, 2005). BGD can be intended as the extent to which people believe that human beings and their behaviors are driven by the influence of genes. A translated BGD 18-item scale was administered to 448 Italian students from several Departments. Data were analyzed by means of both Classical Testing procedures (CT) and Rasch Analysis (RA). Results revealed a mono-factorial structure of the scale. CT allowed us to retain all items of the scale whereas RA imposed to remove four items. Both versions of the scale were analyzed for convergent and discriminant validity. Expectations were confirmed for both versions of the BGD scale. Results are discussed.
