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The Spiritual History Scale in four dimensions (SHS-4): validity and reliability.

J C Hays1, K G Meador, P S Branch

  • 1Department of Psychiatry and School of Nursing, Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Durham, NC 27710, USA. jch@geri.duke.edu

The Gerontologist
|May 1, 2001
PubMed
Summary

This study developed the Spiritual History Scale in Four Dimensions (SHS-4) to measure religious and spiritual experiences. Findings link specific spiritual factors to better health and social support in older adults.

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Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Psychology of Religion
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Late-life health is influenced by various psychosocial factors.
  • Understanding the role of religious and spiritual experiences is crucial for holistic well-being in older adults.
  • Existing measures may not fully capture the multifaceted nature of lifetime religious and spiritual experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a reliable measure of lifetime religious and spiritual experiences.
  • To assess the utility of this measure in explaining health outcomes in late life.
  • To explore the relationship between religious/spiritual factors and health, social support, and behaviors in an elderly population.

Main Methods:

  • Semi-structured interviews with Duke Aging Center volunteers (n=30).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Structured interviews with a random sample (n=157) from the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly.
  • Principal components analysis to identify underlying factors of religious and spiritual experience.

    • Main Results:

    • The Spiritual History Scale in Four Dimensions (SHS-4) demonstrated favorable psychometrics.
    • Seeking/receiving divine aid ('God Helped') was reported by health-impaired subjects.
    • Lifetime Religious Social Support correlated positively with current religious attendance and instrumental social support.
    • Healthy behaviors were associated with 'God Helped' and Lifetime Religious Social Support.
    • Cost of Religiousness predicted depressive symptoms and impaired social support.

    Conclusions:

    • The SHS-4 is a valid and reliable measure for assessing lifetime religious and spiritual experiences.
    • Specific dimensions of religiousness and spirituality are associated with health, social support, and behaviors in older adults.
    • Further evaluation of the SHS-4 across diverse populations is recommended.