Development of the Sources of Spirituality Scale.
Don E Davis, Kenneth Rice, Joshua N Hook, Daryl R Van Tongeren, Cirleen Deblaere, Elise Choe, Everett L Worthington
Journal of counseling psychology July 1, 2015 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1037/cou0000082 via PubMed
Summary
A new scale, the Sources of Spirituality (SOS) Scale, measures spirituality as connection with a theistic being, the transcendent, oneself, humanity, or nature. Across four studies with 218, 200, 140, and 200 participants, factor structure was confirmed in undergraduates and community adults. Construct validity was supported by associations with religious commitment, attitudes toward the Sacred, and nature connection. Latent profile analyses revealed five distinct patterns of spirituality. The findings have implications for therapy and models of spirituality.
Study at a glance
| Design | scale development and validation study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 758 |
| Population | undergraduates and community adults |
| Key finding | The Sources of Spirituality Scale reliably measures five distinct sources of spirituality, and latent profile analyses identified five patterns of spirituality based on these sources. |
Abstract
Most measures of spirituality privilege religious spirituality, but people may experience spirituality in a variety of ways, including a sense of closeness, oneness, or connection with a theistic being, the transcendent (i.e., something outside space and time), oneself, humanity, or nature. The overall purpose of the present 4 studies was to develop the Sources of Spirituality (SOS) Scale to measure these different elements of spirituality. In Study 1, we created items, had them reviewed by experts, and used data from a sample of undergraduates (N = 218) to evaluate factor structure and inform initial measurement revisions. The factor structure replicated well in another sample of undergraduates (N = 200; Study 2), and in a sample of community adults (N = 140; Study 3). In a sample of undergraduates (N = 200; Study 4), we then evaluated evidence of construct validity by examining associations between SOS Scale scores and religious commitment, positive attitudes toward the Sacred, and dispositional connection with nature. Moreover, based on latent profile analyses results, we found 5 distinct patterns of spirituality based on SOS subscales. We consider implications for therapy and relevance of the findings for models of spirituality and future research.