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International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
Published in: International Journal of Behavioral Medicine 4/2011

Open Access 01-12-2011

The Relevance of Fatalism in the Study of Latinas’ Cancer Screening Behavior: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Authors: Karla Espinosa de los Monteros, Linda C. Gallo

Published in: International Journal of Behavioral Medicine | Issue 4/2011

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Abstract

Background

Fatalism has been identified as a dominant belief among Latinos and is believed to act as a barrier to cancer prevention. However, controversy exists over the utility of the construct in explaining health disparities experienced by disadvantaged populations above the influence of structural barriers such as low socioeconomic status (SES) and limited access to health care.

Purpose

This paper reviews the empirical research on fatalism and Latinas’ participation in cancer screening in an attempt to determine whether fatalism predicts participation in cancer screening after accounting for structural barriers.

Method

Google Scholar, ERIC, CINAHL, Medline, PsychINFO, ProQuest, PubMed, and PsychARTICLES were searched for empirical studies published prior to February 25, 2010.

Results

A total of 43 articles were obtained and 11 met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies (64%) reported a statistically significant association between fatalism and utilization of cancer screening services after accounting for structural barriers. However, mixed findings and limitations in measurement and design across studies preclude clear conclusions about the nature of the relationship.

Conclusion

Preliminary evidence for an inverse association between fatalism and Latinas’ utilization of cancer screening services after accounting for structural barriers was identified. However, additional research that addresses methodological limitations is warranted to advance our understanding of the utility of fatalism in explaining inequities in cancer burden experienced by this at-risk group.
Footnotes
1
Given limitations in the existing literature on fatalism and cancer screening (e.g., the limited amount of studies that directly measured the relationship between fatalism and cancer screening and the fact that most of the research on the subject has been conducted on females of Latin American descent), this review will focus exclusively on Latinas. However, the reviewed topic is also relevant to males and other ethnic groups, most notably, African-Americans.
 
2
Although fatalism and locus of control are related constructs, distinct differences have been reported across constructs in regards to philosophical and conceptual underpinnings, dimensionality, and potential implications for health behavior [62‐64]. Thus, studies that utilized locus of control scales to assess fatalism were excluded from this review.
 
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Metadata
Title
The Relevance of Fatalism in the Study of Latinas’ Cancer Screening Behavior: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Authors
Karla Espinosa de los Monteros
Linda C. Gallo
Publication date
01-12-2011
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine / Issue 4/2011
Print ISSN: 1070-5503
Electronic ISSN: 1532-7558
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-010-9119-4

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