Abstract

We present the validation of an original instrument, the PHBS Paranormal Health Beliefs Scale, designed to assess adolescents' illusory beliefs about health. the instrument was administered to 1469 participants. the results of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and the reliability analysis revealed a multidimensional structure of the PHBS. the scale shows satisfactory psychometric properties both in the overall sample and in sub-samples. correlational analyses between PHBS and other constructs have demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity. the results show the validity and reliability of the instrument. the final version of the scale is made up of 31 items. it can be effectively used to measure the varied range of illusory beliefs related to the adolescents' health and to realize educational programs for health promotion addressed to adolescents.