Initial development of a Cultural Values and Beliefs Scale among Dakota/Nakota/Lakota people: a pilot study.

This study was the initial phase in the development of a mental health assessment tool. The Native American Cultural Values and Beliefs Scale is a 12-item instrument that assesses three dimensions of American Indian/Alaska Native values and beliefs: 1) the importance, 2) the frequency of practicing, and 3) the amount of distress caused by not practicing traditional values and beliefs. The initial project was targeted to Dakota/Nakota/Lakota people, though future scale development is intended to establish sufficient generality across several groups of American Indian and Alaska Native persons. The survey was administered to 37 Dakota/Nakota/Lakota adults. The results indicated high internal consistency with Cronbach's alphas of .897 for importance and .917 for practice.