Development of a Chinese and American scale for measuring spirituality

Abstract

A consensus has not been reached on the definition of spirituality. Consequently, it is difficult to understand the concept and to develop scales to assess spirituality. To measure this concept in a non-Western culture is even more difficult. Following sound scale development procedures, the current study endeavors to develop a Spirituality Scale for College Students that could apply to both Chinese and American college students. The scale focuses on three core aspects of spirituality. Data were collected from college students both in China and the U.S. to provide validity and reliability evidence. The results showed that a three-factor model fit the American sample, the Chinese sample, and the entire sample. A measurement invariance analysis revealed that the scale achieved partial measurement invariance. Implications and limitations are also discussed.

Keywords:

• spirituality
• scale development
• college students
• cross-cultural comparison
• structural equation modeling

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

What is the definition of spirituality is still a large question among researchers in the field of psychology. Since spirituality has been demonstrated to have a positive influence on people’s psychological well-being, it seems important that we have an effective measurement tool available for this concept. To fill this research gap, the current study developed a scale to measure spirituality among college students from both China and the United States, and examined the quality of it. Results shown that spirituality had three core components in both cultures, including search for a sacred, differentiation from religion, and the function of spirituality. The current study demonstrated that the scale was fair and equitable for both Chinese and U.S. college students. Applied researchers could administer this scale to college students from China and the U.S. to understand the cultural difference in the concept of spirituality and its influence on college students.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their appreciation to the Chinese scholars who helped coordinate the research participation process as well as to the dear Chinese and American college student participants for their participation in the research process.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Shengnan Li

Shengnan Li, M.A., currently is a doctoral candidate in the counseling psychology doctoral program at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, U.S. Her research interest lies in understanding spirituality and its relation with people’s psychological well-being. She is actively working on several projects currently that focus on mental health and spirituality. Some poster sessions are as follows:

Li, S., Duan, C., & Li, F. (August, 2018). Understanding Spirituality Among Chinese College Students. Poster session accepted at the 2018, American Psychological Association Conference in San Francisco, California.

Li, S., Tewatia, S., & Berman, S. L. (April, 2018). Spirituality, Identity Development, and Adjustment. Poster session accepted at the 2018 conference of the International Society for Identity Research, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Li, S., Frey, B. B. (August, 2017). Development of Scales for Measuring Spirituality. Poster session presented at the 2017, American Psychological Association Conference in Washington, D. C.