Assessing religious faith in medical patients: cross-validation of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (original) (raw)
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A multidimensional measure of religious involvement for cancer patients: the Duke Religious Index
Supportive Care in Cancer, 2000
Despite increasing interest in the relationship between religious involvement and health outcomes for cancer patients, research has been limited by the lack of appropriate measures. Few of the many instruments available are well suited to cancer patients. The current study examined the psychometric properties of one recently developed measure, the Duke Religious Index (DRI), which assesses several aspects of religious involvement. The DRI was evaluated in two distinct samples: 104 cancer patients receiving treatment at a bone marrow transplantation program and 175 gynecology clinic patients. The instrument demonstrated good internal consistency (coefficient alphas 0.87–0.94). Moderate to high correlations with other measures of religiosity provided support for convergent validity. Modest relationships with other measures commonly used in psychosocial oncology (e.g., optimism, social support, purpose in life) indicated that the instrument provides unique information (all r s's <0. 42). Small relationships with social desirability response bias, negative affect, and relationship cohesion further supported the divergent validity of the instrument (all r s's <0.22). The DRI was significantly associated with demographic characteristics but not with medical variables. Findings support the value of the DRI for use in oncology settings.
The development of a brief version of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire
Pastoral Psychology, 2002
The increasing interest between religiosity and health benefits has created the need for a brief, reliable, valid, and practical instrument to measure strength of religious faith. The purpose of this study is to develop a brief version of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSRFQ). The SCSRFQ has been reduced from a ten-item questionnaire to a five-item scale, making it more suitable for administration to severely ill patients and for use in large-scale epidemiological studies. To create the brief version, 1584 participants completed the SCSRFQ. Results were evaluated for high correlation coefficients between individual item responses and the overall total 10 questions from the original scale. Items to be used in the abbreviated version were also selected on the basis of having moderate and centered means and high standard deviations. Thus, the items selected for the brief version generally correlated highly with the total score for the longer questionnaire and provided adequate variability. The reduced version, using questions 2, 4, 5, 8, and 10 of the original scale provides a >0.95 correlation with results from the longer version.
Measuring Religiousness in Health Research: Review and Critique
Journal of Religion and Health, 2008
Although existing measures of religiousness are sophisticated, no single approach has yet emerged as a standard. We review the measures of religiousness most commonly used in the religion and health literature with particular attention to their limitations, suggesting that vigilance is required to avoid over-generalization. After placing the development of these scales in historical context, we discuss measures of religious attendance, private religious practice, and intrinsic/extrinsic religious motivation. We also discuss measures of religious coping, wellbeing, belief, affiliation, maturity, history, and experience. We also address the current trend in favor of multi-dimensional and functional measures of religiousness. We conclude with a critique of the standard, ''context-free'' approach aimed at measuring ''religiousness-in-general'', suggesting that future work might more fruitfully focus on developing ways to measure religiousness in specific, theologically relevant contexts.
The Santa Clara strength of religious faith questionnaire
Pastoral Psychology, 1997
The Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORF) is an often used and validated scale that is uncommonly utilized in culturally diverse populations. The purpose of this research investigation was to adapt the SCSORF for use among Iranian Muslim patients undergoing dialysis and to examine the reliability and validity of the scale among this population. A total of 428 patients (228 females, 200 males, M age = 52.2 years, SD = 10) were selected from five dialysis center in Tehran and Qazvin, Iran. A comprehensive forward-backward translation system was used for cross-cultural translation. Patients completed a baseline questionnaire obtaining demographic and clinical information as well as the SCSORF, the Age Universal Religious Orientation Scale (AUROS), the religious life inventory (RLI), and the Duke University religion index (DUREL). 2 weeks later, patients were asked to complete the SCSORF once again. Reliability of the SCSORF was examined using internal consistency and test-rest reliability. Convergent validity and factor structure using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were also examined. Cronbach's a for the single construct of the SCSORF was 0.89 with adequate test-retest reliability measured over a 2 week period. SCSORF scores were significantly correlated with AUROS, RLI and the DUREL. The EFA generated a single factor solution for the SCSORF while these results were confirmed by the CFA in an independent sample. Findings demonstrated that the SCSORF has favorable reliability, convergent validity, and divergent validity among Iranian Muslim patients undergoing dialysis and is recommended for use by clinicians (e.g., nephrologists) to measure strength of religious faith among patients.
Religious Involvement, Spirituality, and Medicine: Implications for Clinical Practice
Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2001
Surveys suggest that most patients have a spiritual life and regard their spiritual health and physical health as equally important. Furthermore, people may have greater spiritual needs during illness. We reviewed published studies, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and subject reviews that examined the association between religious involvement and spirituality and physical health, mental health, health-related quality of life, and other health outcomes. We also reviewed articles that provided suggestions on how clinicians might assess and support the spiritual needs of patients. Most studies have shown that religious involvement and spirituality are associated with better health outcomes, including greater longevity, coping skills, and health-related quality of life (even during terminal illness) and less anxiety, depression, and suicide. Several stud-For personal use. Mass reproduce only with permission from Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 2005
Background: Spirituality has become a subject of interest in health care as it is was recognized to have the potential to prevent, heal or cope with illness. There is less doubt that values and goals are important contributors to life satisfaction, physical and psychological health, and that goals are what gives meaning and purpose to people's lives. However, there is as yet but limited understanding of how patients themselves view the impact of spirituality on their health and well-being, and whether they are convinced that their illness may have "meaning" to them. To raise these questions and to more precisely survey the basic attitudes of patients with severe diseases towards spirituality/religiosity (SpR) and their adjustment to their illness, we developed the SpREUK questionnaire.
Have a little faith: measuring the impact of illness on positive and negative aspects of faith
Psycho-Oncology, 2012
Background: The importance of faith and its associations with health are well documented. As part of the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System, items tapping positive and negative impact of illness (PII and NII) were developed across four content domains: Coping/Stress Response, Self-Concept, Social Connection/Isolation, and Meaning and Spirituality. Faith items were included within the concept of meaning and spirituality. Methods: This measurement model was tested on a heterogeneous group of 509 cancer survivors. To evaluate dimensionality, we applied two bi-factor models, specifying a general factor (PII or NII) and four local factors: Coping/Stress Response, Self-Concept, Social Connection/ Isolation, and Meaning and Spirituality. Results: Bi-factor analysis supported sufficient unidimensionality within PII and NII item sets. The unidimensionality of both PII and NII item sets was enhanced by extraction of the faith items from the rest of the questions. Of the 10 faith items, nine demonstrated higher local than general factor loadings (range for local factor loadings = 0.402 to 0.876), suggesting utility as a separate but related 'faith' factor. The same was true for only two of the remaining 63 items across the PII and NII item sets. Conclusions: Although conceptually and to a degree empirically related to Meaning and Spirituality, Faith appears to be a distinct subdomain of PII and NII, better handled by distinct assessment. A 10-item measure of the impact of illness upon faith (II-Faith) was therefore assembled.
Effect of faith on the acceptance of chronic disease patients
2013
submission: 01 March 2012; Accepted: 11 March 2012. ABSTRACT Aim To examine the influence of religion on the acceptance of illness in chronic patients who find solace in religion and spiritual beliefs, according to gender, age and chronic disease type. Methods The study included 100 patients (40 males and 60 females) suffering from chronic diseases that were treated at the Clinic of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Osijek during the period between August 10 and September 30, 2011. The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp) scale was used as a research instrument. Data were presented as absolute and relative frequencies, the observed differences between groups were tested by Fisher exact test and significance level was set at 0.05. Results Comparison of the area of spirituality in relation to gender showed the difference in the significance for males (Sv-12.5) and females (13.5) (p=0.033). Respondents older than 60 years had the highest...
2010
The Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire is a brief (10-item, or five-item short form version), reliable and valid self report measure assessing strength of religious faith and engagement suitable for use with multiple religious traditions, denominations, and perspectives. It has been used in medical, student, psychiatric, substance abuse, and among general populations nationally and internationally and among multiple cultures and languages. Brief non denominational self report measures of religious and faith engagement that have demonstrated reliability and validity are not common but can have potential for general utility in both clinical and research settings. This article provides an overview of the scale and current research findings regarding its use in both research and clinical practice.