Assessment of mental health, religion and culture: the development and examination of psychometric measures (Part IX)

This Special Issue of Mental Health, Religion & Culture marks Part IX of a series entitled Assessment of Mental Health, Religion and Culture: The development and examination of psychometric measures … (Lewis, 2016a, 2016b, 2016c, 2016d, 2017a, 2017b, 2018a, 2018b, 2019a, 2019b, 2019c, 2019d, 2020a, 2020b; Lewis & Krok, 2020a, 2020b). This series aims to provide a dedicated forum for researchers to publish data on newly developed measures, or indeed established measures, that are of practical value for researchers interested in examining the relationship between the constructs of mental health, religion, and culture.

Over the last five years or so, this series has become an annual, and sometimes a biannual fixture in the content of Mental Health, Religion & Culture. The frequency of publication affirms the popularity of this series. The series has now become a well-established resource for researchers and practitioners alike. The most recent edition of the series, Part VIII (Lewis & Krok, 2020a, 2020b), contained a collection of articles from one context, that of Poland. Part IX returns to a more geographically diverse collection of articles.

Previous articles have been presented in three areas. First, those articles focused on the psychometric properties of recently developed new scales. Second, those articles focused on the evaluation of the psychometric properties of published scales translated into another language. Third, those articles focused on the evaluation of the psychometric properties of scales employed in various cultural contexts and religious samples. The present Special Issue continues with this format.

This Special Issue consists of eight articles. First, one article is presented that has focused on the development of a new scale. Kazemzadeh Atoofi et al. (2021) report among a sample of 156 Iranian university students, the development of the brief version of the Belief in a Day of Judgment Scale (Beshai & Lester, 2013) in the Farsi language.

Second, six articles are presented that have focused on the evaluation of the psychometric properties of previously published scales that have been translated into other languages. Alaloul et al. (2021) report among a sample of 63 adult Arabic cancer survivors post-Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation the satisfactory psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (Sherbourne & Stewart, 1991). Dadfar Lester, and Sanadgol (2021) report among a sample of 72 Iran University of Medical Sciences staff and a sample of 102 Iranian psychiatric outpatients the satisfactory psychometric properties of the Farsi version of the Interpersonal Mattering Scale (Elliott et al., 2004). Francis et al. (2021) report among a sample of 287 Catholic priests and religious sisters in Italy the satisfactory psychometric properties of the Italian version of a revised version of the Francis Burnout Inventory (Francis et al., 2005). Koukounaras Liagkis and Ktenidis (2021) report among a sample of 317 Greek students aged 13–19 years old the satisfactory psychometric properties of the Greek translation (Youtika et al., 1999) of the Francis Scale of Attitudes Towards Christianity (Francis & Stubbs, 1987) and the Greek translation (Dianni et al., 2014) of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (Plante & Boccaccini, 1997). Novák et al. (2021) report among a sample of 572 Czech adults the satisfactory psychometric properties of the Czech translation of the Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale (Hwang et al., 2008). Rao et al. (2021) report among a sample of 436 Pakistani adults the satisfactory psychometric properties of the Urdu translation of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (Tobacyk, 1988).

Third, two articles are presented that have focused on the evaluation of the psychometric properties of scales employed in various cultural contexts and religious samples. Guleryuz Erken and Francis (2021) report among a sample of 1,146 Muslim, 575 Christian, and 361 religiously unaffiliated secondary school students in England the satisfactory psychometric properties of a revised version of the Astley-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Theistic Faith (Astley et al., 2012). Johnstone et al. (2021) report among a sample of 398 healthy American undergraduate students the satisfactory psychometric properties of the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (Fetzer Institute & National Institute on Aging Working Group, 1999).

This Special Issue of Mental Health, Religion & Culture has illustrated the richness of contemporary research that is at present being undertaken on scale development and evaluation pertinent to the field of mental health, religion, and culture, and beyond. This collection, along with the previous eight Special Issues, clearly attest to the on-going momentum of this specific research tradition.

This Special Issue would not have been possible without the assistance of many people. We wish to acknowledge the authors who provided stimulating articles and efficient revisions, and our reviewers for their judicious and insightful evaluations of the manuscripts submitted. We are particularly grateful to the regular Co-Editors of Mental Health, Religion & Culture for their continued enthusiasm for this on-going initiative.