Development, Validation, and Reliability of a Questionnaire Assessing Fate Beliefs and Destiny

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Counseling Department, Associate Professor, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

2 Counseling Department, University of and Social welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

3 University of and Social welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

4 Clinical Psychology, Roudehen Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

background:

The present study was designed and carried out to develop a Beliefs in Fate and Destiny Questionnaire and to examine its validity and reliability using an exploratory instrument-development and validation framework.

Method:

The research was conducted in three stages. In the first stage, the theoretical foundations and conceptual frameworks underlying belief in fate and destiny were reviewed. In the second stage, the Beliefs in Fate and Destiny Questionnaire was drafted and its content validity was evaluated. In the third stage, the instrument’s construct validity and reliability were assessed. Using multistage cluster sampling, 240 participants (seminary students and Islamic Azad University students in Tehran) were selected. The Death Anxiety Questionnaire and the Determinism and Free Will Questionnaire were administered to assess convergent and divergent validity, respectively, and the researcher-developed Beliefs in Fate and Destiny Questionnaire served as the primary instrument. Data were analyzed in SPSS-25 to compute convergent and divergent validity indices, reliability (Cronbach’s alpha), and to perform exploratory factor analysis.

Findings:

Exploratory factor analysis, examined via the scree plot, revealed four factors within the Beliefs in Fate and Destiny Questionnaire. Divergent validity with the Determinism and Free Will Questionnaire was r=–0.70 among seminary students and r=–0.57 among Azad University students. Convergent validity with the Responsibility subscale of the Death Anxiety Questionnaire was r=0.33 in seminary students, while no significant correlation emerged in the Azad University sample. Cronbach’s alpha for the total scale was 0.92 Finally, score interpretation guidelines were developed based on respondent frequency distributions.

Conclusion:

This study yielded a 49-item questionnaire with four subscales for assessing beliefs in fate and destiny. Given its demonstrated psychometric properties, the final form of the instrument is suitable for measuring the construct of belief in fate and destiny in research contexts..

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Journal of Rehabilitation Counseling
Volume 1, Issue 2
July 2025
Pages 137-153

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History

  • Receive Date: 20 April 2025
  • Revise Date: 08 September 2025
  • Accept Date: 01 July 2025
  • Publish Date: 23 August 2025

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