Development and validation of an instrument to evaluate spirituality: Spirituality-Related Attitude Scale (ARES)

Author(s)

Camilla Casaletti Braghetta

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina (FM/SBD)
• Defense date: 2017-08-08

Examining board members

Homero Pinto Vallada Filho; Maria Helena Morgani de Almeida; Francisco Lotufo Neto; Samantha Mucci

• Advisor: Homero Pinto Vallada Filho; Clarice Gorenstein

Abstract

Objectives: Develop a new instrument devised to measure spirituality, able to perform psychometric analysis of validity and reliability. Methods: The instrument was elaborated through four processes: theoretical foundation, a population based investigation about possible definitions of spirituality, a first version was achieved by a committee of experts in Spirituality along with a comprehension test. In psychometric analysis, the analysis was evaluated by judges, then tested in a population of medical students (N = 85) and in a religious population (N = 85), in order to calculate internal consistency, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability, through test-retest. Results: The instrument, ARES, a Spirituality-Related Attitudes Scale, was based on theoretical understandings of spirituality in the Brazilian context. It presented an appropriate psychometric analysis: the EFA indicated a one-dimensional structure, the Cronbach\'s Alpha found each item at >= 0.98 and the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC = 0.98) indicated good reproducibility of the scale. Conclusion: ARES is a one-dimensional instrument, developed in the Portuguese language, which presented an excellent internal consistency and indicated to be reproducible in the evaluated population. Further studies are needed to verify if ARES is applicable to other population samples, for example, a low SES and other cultural/religious contexts. The ARES scale allows for operationalization of the construct of spirituality in quantitative researches (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/13709-3 - Validation of Spiritual Anamnesis of Health, Spirituality and Religiosity Program (ProSER)
• Grantee: Camilla Casaletti Braghetta
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master