Abstract
Investigating religiosity and spirituality may help to further elucidate how individuals’ worldviews influence their attitudes, behavior, and overall well-being. However, inconsistencies in how these constructs are conceptualized and measured may undercut the potential value of religiosity and spirituality research. Results from a survey of undergraduate students suggest that laypeople define spirituality as independent from social influence and that few people associate religiosity with negative terms. A content analysis of spirituality measures indicates that spirituality measures contain items that do not directly measure the strength of spirituality. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
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We would like to thank Caitlin Forshier for her contributions to this project.
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Baumsteiger, R., Chenneville, T. Challenges to the Conceptualization and Measurement of Religiosity and Spirituality in Mental Health Research. J Relig Health 54, 2344–2354 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0008-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0008-7