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Measuring beliefs about suffering: development of the views of suffering scale.

ABSTRACT: Efforts to measure religion have intensified, and many specific dimensions have been identified. However, although belief is a core dimension of all world religions, little attention has been given to assessment of religious beliefs. In particular, 1 essential set of religious beliefs, those concerning the reasons for human suffering, has remained virtually unexamined despite the potential clinical relevance of these beliefs. To fill the need for a measure of people's beliefs about suffering, we developed the Views of Suffering Scale (VOSS). Analyses identified factors related to traditional Christian teachings, unorthodox theistic beliefs, karma, and randomness. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability for VOSS subscale scores were good (?s and rs ? .70). Comparisons to measures of related constructs suggest that the VOSS scores demonstrate good convergent validity. One subscale score was modestly correlated with social desirability related to image management, and 7 were positively correlated to self-deceptive enhancement. These preliminary studies suggest that the VOSS differentiates religious perspectives on suffering among a sample of U.S. university students, though more research is needed to confirm its utility in diverse populations. The VOSS provides a valid way to measure individuals' beliefs about suffering, allowing for inquiry into the factors that lead to various beliefs about suffering and the roles of these beliefs in adjusting to stressful life events.

SUBMITTER: Hale-Smith A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3695743 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Measuring beliefs about suffering: development of the views of suffering scale.

Hale-Smith Amy A Park Crystal L CL Edmondson Donald D

Psychological assessment 20120227 4

Efforts to measure religion have intensified, and many specific dimensions have been identified. However, although belief is a core dimension of all world religions, little attention has been given to assessment of religious beliefs. In particular, 1 essential set of religious beliefs, those concerning the reasons for human suffering, has remained virtually unexamined despite the potential clinical relevance of these beliefs. To fill the need for a measure of people's beliefs about suffering, we ...[more]

PMID: 22369650

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Project description:Background and objectivesTechnology has the potential to provide assistance and enrichment to older people; however, the desired outcomes are dependent on users' acceptance and usage. The senior technology acceptance model (STAM) was developed as a multidimensional measure assessing older people's acceptance of general technology. It contained 11 constructs measured by 38 items and had shown satisfactory psychometric properties. However, the length of the questionnaire increased respondent burden and limited its utilization. The study aimed to develop a brief, reliable, and valid version of scale to measure older people's technology acceptance by shortening the full, 38-item STAM questionnaire.Research design and methodsThe research method included (1) a sequential item-reduction strategy maximizing internal consistency, (2) convergent and discriminant validity analysis based on confirmative factor analysis, and (3) an expert review of resultant items. Data previously collected for developing the original STAM questionnaire were used to create the brief version. The data were collected from 1,012 community-dwelling individuals aged 55 and older in Hong Kong. Internal consistency and construct validity of the shortened questionnaire were examined. Two experts were invited for reviewing content validity.ResultsThe final 14-item, brief version of the STAM questionnaire consisted of a 4-factor structure, representing classical technology acceptance constructs and age-related health characteristics. Theoretical relationships in the brief version showed similar patterns to the original STAM. The 14-item STAM demonstrated robustness in psychometrics by preserving the reliability and validity of the original STAM questionnaire.Discussion and implicationsThe availability of a reliable and valid assessment tool of the short STAM can help researchers and practitioners to measure older adults' acceptance of technology and its effective usage. The short STAM could save administration time, reduce the burden on respondents, and be included in large-scale surveys.

Dataset Information

Measuring beliefs about suffering: development of the views of suffering scale.

Publications

Measuring beliefs about suffering: development of the views of suffering scale.

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