Development and Preliminary Validation of the Divine Connectedness Scale in the USA

  • 0Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education, Academic Unit of Human Communication, Learning, and Development, The University of Hong Kong, Rm. 210 Runme Shaw Bldg., Pokfulam Rd., Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. jaddatu@hku.hk.

|

|

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces the Divine Connectedness Scale, finding it a valid measure for assessing one's connection with a higher power. Higher divine connectedness is linked to greater well-being and meaning in life.

Area Of Science

  • Psychology
  • Religious Studies
  • Sociology

Background

  • The concept of divine connectedness, involving perceptions of divine guidance and collaboration, is explored.
  • Existing measures may not fully capture the nuances of an individual's relationship with a Supreme Being.

Purpose Of The Study

  • To conceptualize and provide preliminary evidence for the psychometric properties of the 10-item Divine Connectedness Scale (DCS).
  • To assess the validity and reliability of the DCS in a sample of undergraduate students.

Main Methods

  • Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on data from 434 US undergraduate students.
  • The Divine Connectedness Scale (DCS) was administered to participants.

Main Results

  • A single-factor model of divine connectedness demonstrated valid and reliable scores.
  • Divine connectedness positively correlated with religiosity, forgiveness, and various well-being indicators.
  • The DCS showed incremental validity in predicting future meaning in life and flourishing, beyond demographic factors, social desirability, and religiosity.

Conclusions

  • The 10-item Divine Connectedness Scale is a psychometrically sound measure for assessing perceived connection with a Supreme Being.
  • Divine connectedness is a significant construct associated with positive psychological outcomes, including meaning in life and flourishing.
  • The DCS offers a valuable tool for researchers investigating the role of spirituality and perceived divine support in psychological health.

Related Concept Videos

Reliability and Validity 01:29

12.7K

Reliability and validity are two important considerations that must be made with any type of data collection. Reliability refers to the ability to consistently produce a given result. In the context of psychological research, this would mean that any instruments or tools used to collect data do so in consistent, reproducible ways.

Unfortunately, being consistent in measurement does not necessarily mean that you have measured something correctly. To illustrate this concept, consider a kitchen...

Self-Report Tests of Personality 01:22

328

Self-report inventories are objective personality assessments that use multiple-choice items or numbered scales, typically ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). They are often called Likert scales after Rensis Likert. These inventories are widely used due to their ease of administration and cost-effectiveness. One of the most prominent examples is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), initially developed in the 1940s to assess abnormal personality traits.

Relationship Formation 02:12

39.9K

What do you think is the single most influential factor in determining with whom you become friends and whom you form romantic relationships? You might be surprised to learn that the answer is simple: the people with whom you have the most contact. This most important factor is proximity. You are more likely to be friends with people you have regular contact with. For example, there are decades of research that shows that you are more likely to become friends with people who live in your dorm,...

Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification 03:00

5.2K

Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...

Self-Discrepancy Theory 02:45

18.3K

One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.  

According to the self-discrepancy theory, people hold beliefs about what they’re really like—their actual self—as well as what they would ideally like to be—their ideal...

Spearman's Rank Correlation Test 01:20

736

Spearman's rank correlation test, also known as Spearman's rho, is a nonparametric method for assessing the strength and direction of association between two variables. This test is particularly valuable when the data distribution is unknown or when the assumption of normality does not hold. Named after the English psychologist and statistician Dr. Charles Edward Spearman, it serves as the nonparametric counterpart to Pearson's correlation coefficient.
Spearman's test calculates...