The Spirituality Scale: development and psychometric testing of a holistic instrument to assess the human spiritual dimension.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to develop, refine, and evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Spirituality Scale (SS). The SS is a holistic instrument that attempts to measure the beliefs, intuitions, lifestyle choices, practices, and rituals representative of the human spiritual dimension and is designed to guide spiritual interventions.

METHOD

A researcher-developed instrument was designed to assess spirituality from a holistic perspective. Items were generated to measure four conceptualized domains of spirituality. The SS was completed by 240 adults with chronic illness.

FINDINGS

Psychometric analysis of the SS provided strong evidence of the reliability and validity of the instrument. Three factors of spirituality that supported the theoretical framework were identified: Self-Discovery, Relationships, and Eco-Awareness.

IMPLICATIONS

These findings can assist in facilitating the inclusion of spirituality in health care and have the potential to provide a transforming vision for nursing care and a vehicle to evoking optimal patient outcomes.