A brief measure of core religious beliefs for use in psychiatric settings

Results from several national studies in the United States suggests that: (1) religious beliefs and practices are highly prevalent; (2) spirituality and religion are statistically and clinically relevant to mental health and symptoms; and (3) many patients have a preference for spiritually integrated care. However, existing protocols that assess for salient religious themes in psychiatric settings are time-consuming to administer, relevant only to specific populations (e.g., Christians), and have poor psychometric properties. Further, evidence suggests that religious beliefs can take on a positive and negative valence, and both of these dimensions are worthy of assessment. We, therefore, developed a brief (six-item) self-report measure of positive and negative core beliefs about God which is uniquely suited for use with a broad range of religious patients. Across three studies, we evaluated its psychometric properties and ability to predict symptoms of anxiety and depression. Results provide support for the validity and reliability of our measure and further highlight the salience of both positive and negative religious beliefs to psychiatric symptoms. It is hoped that this measure will help to decrease the burden of spiritual assessment in psychiatric and medical settings, and further have research utility for this area of study.