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