Cardiac misconceptions among healthy adults: implications for the promotion of health in the community

This study sought to confirm the structure and to investigate the psychometric properties of an experimental Portuguese version of the York Cardiac Beliefs Questionnaire (YCBQ) in a general population sample. It also set out to identify the prevalent misconceptions in the community and to assess the differences according to socio-demographic characteristics. It involved a cross-sectional survey in which both test and validation samples were collected (n = 476), including participants aged between 18 and 40, recruited via e-mail and social networks. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis on both samples suggested a shorter, three factor version of the YCBQ. Also, misconceptions differed significantly according to sociodemographic variables. The validation of the YCBQ for samples in the community constitutes an important starting point to promote research on misconceptions held in the community by specific groups, as well as to provide key points for health promotion.