An integrative research review of instruments measuring religious involvement: implications for nursing research with African Americans.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Many instruments in which religious involvement is measured often (a) contain unclear, poorly developed constructs; (b) lack methodological rigor in scale development; and (c) contain language and content culturally incongruent with the religious experiences of diverse ethnic groups. The primary aims of this review were to (a) synthesize the research on instruments designed to measure religious involvement, (b) evaluate the methodological quality of instruments that measure religious involvement, and (c) examine these instruments for conceptual congruency with African American religious involvement.

METHODS

An updated integrative research review method guided the process (Whittemore & Knafl, 2005).

RESULTS

152 articles were reviewed and 23 articles retrieved. Only 3 retained instruments were developed under methodologically rigorous conditions. All 3 instruments were congruent with a conceptual model of African American religious involvement.

CONCLUSIONS

The Fetzer Multidimensional Measure of Religious Involvement and Spirituality (FMMRS; Idler et al., 2003) was found to have favorable characteristics. Further examination and psychometric testing is warranted to determine its acceptability, readability, and cultural sensitivity in an African American population.