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 and Objective: The present study aimed to develop a Beliefs in Fate and Destiny Questionnaire and to evaluate its validity and reliability using an exploratory instrument-development and validation framework.
Methods: The research was conducted in three stages. In the first stage, the theoretical foundations and conceptual frameworks underlying beliefs in fate and destiny were reviewed. In the second stage, a preliminary version of the Beliefs in Fate and Destiny Questionnaire was drafted, and its content validity was asssessed. In the third stage, the instrument’s construct validity and reliability were evaluated. Using multistage cluster sampling, 240 participants (seminary students and Islamic Azad University students in Tehran) were selected. To assess convergent and divergent validity, the Death Anxiety Questionnaire and the Determinism and Free Will Questionnaire were administered, respectively, and the researcher-developed Beliefs in Fate and Destiny Questionnaire served as the primary instrument. Data were analyzed in SPSS-25 to calculate convergent and divergent validity indices, Cronbach’s alpha for reliability, and to perform exploratory factor analysis.
Results: Exploratory factor analysis, using 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, with no significant correlation observed in the Azad University sample. Cronbach’s alpha for the total scale was 0.92. Finally, score interpretation guidelines were developed based on distributions of responses.
Conclusions: This study developed a 49-item questionnaire with four subscales for assessing beliefs in fate and destiny. Given its demonstrated psychometric properties, the final  instrument can be suitable for use in research contexts to measure belief in fate and destiny research.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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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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