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Presentation
The spiritual impact rating scale for women (SIRSW): Validation and testing of an instrument to assess the influence of spirituality on the lives of female college students.
Global Alliance's 2018 Coming Together for Action Conference (2018)
  • Angela Ekwonye, St. Catherine University
  • Alvina D Brueggemann
Abstract
Dealing with personal and academic challenges during college years may have negative impact on the physical and mental health of college students. Spirituality may be one asset that college students could turn to effectively cope with their struggles, but no tool has been developed to assess the impact of spirituality in the lives of college women students. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spiritual Impact Rating Scale for Women (SIRSW) and test the hypothesis that higher spirituality will correlate positively with healthy behaviors (sleep, physical exercise, social interaction) in 667 female college students. Psychometric characteristics of the SIRSW were assessed by evaluating variability, internal consistency reliability, and overall scale structure. Spearman's correlations were calculated to examine how SIRSW was correlated with healthy behaviors (hours and quality of sleep, physical exercise, and social interaction). Internal consistency was high (Cronbach alpha = 0.97). Item-scale coefficients were above the minimum criteria, demonstrating the homogeneity of the scale items in measuring the construct of spirituality. Factor analysis revealed that the 16-items measuring spirituality fell under the one-factor component and accounted for 82% of the variance. The SIRSW total score was correlated positively with quality of sleep and engagement in physical exercise for health, but correlated negatively with hours of sleep and social interaction. The SIRSW was found to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing spiritual well-being in college women population. Results suggest the need to assess, develop, and implement appropriate spiritual well-being interventions as a means to enhance the physical health of college women.
Publication Date
Fall October 3, 2018
Location
Denver, CO
Citation Information
Angela Ekwonye and Alvina D Brueggemann. "The spiritual impact rating scale for women (SIRSW): Validation and testing of an instrument to assess the influence of spirituality on the lives of female college students." Global Alliance's 2018 Coming Together for Action Conference (2018)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/angela-ekwonye/11/