Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Chinese Spiritual Coping Scale: Development and Initial Psychometric Evaluation

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Religion and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of the study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate the Chinese Spiritual Coping Scale. The items in the questionnaire were written according to the study’s theoretical conception and literature research. A sample of 415 participants with or without religious beliefs was used for exploratory factor analyses to select the items. In addition, another sample of 207 participants was used to cross-validate the factor structure and examine the internal consistency. The results supported the four-factor structure of the Chinese Spiritual Coping Scale (17 items, four dimensions: Mystical Experience, Moral Practice, Meaning Exploration, and Transcendent Attitude). The analyses demonstrated adequate internal consistency and construct validity. The overall psychometric evaluation of the Spiritual Coping Scale suggested that this could be a promising measure of spiritual coping for Chinese individuals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Avants, S. K., & Margolin, A. (2004). Development of spiritual self-schema (3-S) therapy for the treatment of addictive and HIV risk behavior: A convergence of cognitive and buddhist psychology. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 14(3), 253–289.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baldacchino, D. R., & Buhagiar, A. (2003). Psychometric evaluation of the Spiritual Coping Strategies scale in English, Maltese, back-translation and bilingual versions. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 42(6), 558–570.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baldacchino, D., & Draper, P. (2001). Spiritual coping strategies: A review of the nursing research literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34(6), 833–841.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Borg, J., Andrée, B., Soderstrom, H., & Farde, L. (2003). The serotonin system and spiritual experiences. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(11), 1965–1969.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowie, J. V., Sydnor, K. D., Granot, M., & Pargament, K. I. (2005). Spirituality and coping among survivors of prostate cancer. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 22(2), 41–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, T. A. (2014). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York: Guilford Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charzyńska, E. (2015). Multidimensional approach toward spiritual coping: Construction and validation of the Spiritual Coping Questionnaire (SCQ). Journal of Religion and Health, 54(5), 1629–1646.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chiu, L., Emblen, J. D., Van Hofwegen, L., Sawatzky, R., & Meyerhoff, H. (2004). An integrative review of the concept of spirituality in the health sciences. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 26(4), 405–428.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, A. B. (2002). The importance of spirituality in well-being for Jews and Christians. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(3), 287–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, C. C. (2004). Addiction and spirituality. Addiction, 99(5), 539–551.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cui, D. H. (2008). The ultimate rational self-consciousness of life-the Confucian concept of “life”. Confucius studies, 2, 4–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Jager Meezenbroek, E., Garssen, B., van den Berg, M., Van Dierendonck, D., Visser, A., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2012). Measuring spirituality as a universal human experience: A review of spirituality questionnaires. Journal of Religion and Health, 51(2), 336–354.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DeVellis, R. F. (2016). Scale development: Theory and applications (Vol. 26). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dyson, J., Cobb, M., & Forman, D. (1997). The meaning of spirituality: A literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 26(6), 1183–1188.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Genia, V. (1991). The spiritual experience index: A measure of spiritual maturity. Journal of Religion and Health, 30(4), 337–347.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Genia, V. (1997). The spiritual experience index: Revision and reformulation. Review of Religious Research, 38(4), 344–361.

    Google Scholar 

  • George, L. K., Larson, D. B., Koenig, H. G., & McCullough, M. E. (2000). Spirituality and health: What we know, what we need to know. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19(1), 102–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gomez, R., & Fisher, J. W. (2005). Item response theory analysis of the spiritual well-being questionnaire. Personality and Individual Differences, 38(5), 1107–1121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, T. W., & Edwards, K. J. (1996). The initial development and factor analysis of the Spiritual Assessment Inventory. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 24(3), 233–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, T. W., & Edwards, K. J. (2002). The Spiritual Assessment Inventory: A theistic model and measure for assessing spiritual development. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 41(2), 341–357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, H. G., Larson, D. B., & Weaver, A. J. (1998). Research on religion and serious mental illness. New Directions for Mental Health Services, 1998(80), 81–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, H. (2006). Self-transcendence meaning of life moderates in the relation between college stress and psychological well-being. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 38(3), 422–427.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liang, H. H. (2006). The influencing factors of spirituality and relations between spirituality and mental health for undergraduates (Unpublished master’s thesis). Zhejiang Normal University.

  • Liu, S. W., & Gan, Y. Q. (2010). Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 24(6), 478–482.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, E. D. (2004). The development and validation of a new measure of spirituality. North American Journal of Psychology, 6(3), 423–430.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, W. R., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Spirituality, religion, and health: An emerging research field. American Psychologist, 58(1), 24–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moritz, S., Quan, H., Rickhi, B., Liu, M., Angen, M., Vintila, R., et al. (2006). A home study-based spirituality education program decreases emotional distress and increases quality of life–a randomized, controlled trial. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 12(6), 26–35.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paloutzian, R. F., & Ellison, C. W. (1982). Loneliness, spiritual well-being and the quality of life (pp. 224–237). Loneliness: A Sourcebook of Current Theory, Research and Therapy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, practice. New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K. I. (2011). Spiritually integrated psychotherapy: Understanding and addressing the sacred. New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K. I., Koenig, H. G., & Perez, L. M. (2000). The many methods of religious coping: Development and initial validation of the RCOPE. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(4), 519–543.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Piedmont, R. L. (1999). Does spirituality represent the sixth factor of personality? Spiritual transcendence and the five-factor model. Journal of Personality, 67(6), 985–1013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piedmont, R. L., & Leach, M. M. (2002). Cross-cultural generalizability of the Spiritual Transcendence Scale in India: Spirituality as a universal aspect of human experience. American Behavioral Scientist, 45(12), 1888–1901.

    Google Scholar 

  • Puchalski, C., Ferrell, B., Virani, R., Otis-Green, S., Baird, P., Bull, J., et al. (2009). Improving the quality of spiritual care as a dimension of palliative care: The report of the Consensus Conference. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 12(10), 885–904.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rafferty, K. A., Billig, A. K., & Mosack, K. E. (2015). Spirituality, religion, and health: The role of communication, appraisals, and coping for individuals living with chronic illness. Journal of Religion and Health, 54(5), 1870–1885.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rassouli, M., Yaghmaie, F., Alavi Majd, H., & Saeedolzakerin, M. (2009). Development and psychometrics of “Institutionalized Adolescents Spiritual Coping Scale”. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, 15(1), 25–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed, P. G. (1992). An emerging paradigm for the investigation of spirituality in nursing. Research in Nursing & Health, 15(5), 349–357.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ren, J. T. (2012). Internal and external transcendence: Religious belief, moral belief and order. Social Science in China, 7, 26–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schulz, E., Holt, C. L., Caplan, L., Blake, V., Southward, P., Buckner, A., et al. (2008). Role of spirituality in cancer coping among African Americans: A qualitative examination. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 2(2), 104–115.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun, Y., Tao, F. B., Hao, J. H., & Wan, Y. H. (2010). The mediating effects of stress and coping on depression among adolescents in China. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 23(3), 173–180.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thune-Boyle, I. C., Stygall, J. A., Keshtgar, M. R., & Newman, S. P. (2006). Do religious/spiritual coping strategies affect illness adjustment in patients with cancer? A systematic review of the literature. Social Science and Medicine, 63(1), 151–164.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, K. T., Zhang, L., & Cao, Y. M. (2017). Chinese psychology of religion measures: A systematic review and best practice guidelines. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 28, 133–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weaver, A. J., Pargament, K. I., Flannelly, K. J., & Oppenheimer, J. E. (2006). Trends in the scientific study of religion, spirituality, and health: 1965–2000. Journal of Religion and Health, 45(2), 208–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, G. S. (2004). Theoretical analysis and empirical study of Chinese self: social orientation and individual orientation. Indigenous Psychological Research in Chinese Societies, 22, 11–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, B. Y., & Wan, M. G. (2008). Stress and coping research in cross-cultural psychology. Psychological Science, 31(4), 925–928.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, D. S., Zhang, Y. L., Xiao, S. Y., Zhou, L., & Zhu, J. F. (2002). Introduction of Chinese Taoist cognitive therapy. Chinese Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, 28(2), 152–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Z. X., Wei, X., & Leung, K. (2011). Buying insurance for harmony: A relational risk perspective on conflict avoidance. Paper presented at the 24th Annual International Association of Conflict Management Conference, Istanbul, Turkey.

  • Zhao, C. H. (2009). The Confucianism self-regulation and its works principle. Journal of Social Sciences of Hunan Normal University, 38(4), 17–21.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanxi Medical University, 56 Xinjian South Road, Taiyuan, 030000, People’s Republic of China

    Jiahe Feng, Yue Li, Yiwen Sun, Lin Wang & Yunzhen Xue

  2. Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, USA

    Wei Qi & Kenneth T. Wang

Authors
  1. Jiahe Feng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yue Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yiwen Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Lin Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Wei Qi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Kenneth T. Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Yunzhen Xue
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yunzhen Xue.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Feng, J., Li, Y., Sun, Y. et al. The Chinese Spiritual Coping Scale: Development and Initial Psychometric Evaluation. J Relig Health 60, 458–474 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00970-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00970-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation