Spiritual Psychology and Counseling (Feb 2018)
The Spiritual Bypass Scale-Brazilian Adaptation: How Religious Affiliation, Age, and Gender Can Predict Levels of Psychological Avoidance and Spiritualizing
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to present and discuss three validation studies of the Spiritual Bypass Scale-13 (SBS-13) on a sample of the Brazilian population. These studies have three purposes (a) to recover the twofactor solution of the SBS-13 among a Brazilian population sample; (b) understand how religious affiliation, age, and gender can predict levels of psychological avoidance and spiritualizing; and (c) explore the relationships between spiritual bypass and psycho-social variables, which include depression, anxiety, stress, narcissism, and preference for solitude. All data have been collected using an online self-report survey, and the pre-requisites for filling out the questionnaire are: (a) Brazilian citizenship, (b) a minimum of 18 years of age, and (c) ascribing to some form of spirituality or religion. Based on two different samples of the Brazilian population (N1 = 193 and N2 = 729) that follow, the studies evidence acceptable reliability and validity of the Spiritual Bypass Scale-Brazilian Translation (SBS-BT) for use in the Brazilian Portuguese-speaking community. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we have successfully replicated a two-factor structure of the SBS-BT while controlling for the effects of age, gender, and religious affiliation. The model replicates the two-factor structure of the Brazilian version of the SBS with indications of good fit: X2 (49, N = 729) = 190.9, p < .001; CMIN / df = 3.89; CFI = .95, SRMR = .04, RMSEA = .06. All items load onto two factors with coefficients ranging from .49 to .65. Alpha coefficients range from .72 to .86 across the two different samples. Results show a significant multivariate effect for religious affiliation and spiritual bypass. The dimensions of spiritual bypass predict the variances in stress, anxiety, and depression. For depression and anxiety, spiritualizing adds a unique, predictive value over and above the demographic variables and superiority (facet of narcissism).
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