Measuring Spirituality Among American Muslims: Validation of a Culturally Congruent Instrument

Muslims represent one of the fastest growing ethnic minority groups in the United States. Yet, despite the importance of spirituality to members of this population, the vast majority of spirituality measures have been validated with Christian samples. Indeed, reviews suggest that no spirituality instruments have been validated with Muslims (Kapuscinski & Masters, 2010; Monod et al., 2011). This study addresses this gap in the literature by validating a spirituality instrument for use with American Muslims.

Among the instruments discussed in reviews, the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale (ISS) may be a particularly suitable choice for cross-cultural validation. Based upon Allport and Ross’ intrinsic conceptualization, the ISS measures the degree to which spirituality operates as an intrinsic motivational drive. Islamic scholars have posited that the intrinsic conceptualization of spirituality is, theoretically, highly congruent with the Muslims’ understanding of spirituality. As result, we hypothesized the ISS would be a valid and reliable measure of spirituality with American Muslims.

Method

The sample consisted of 281 self-identified Muslims, obtained through purposive, snowball sampling of 22 Islamic organizations in the United States. The study design was cross-sectional. Surveys were administered online to organizational members who agreed to participate. In addition to demographic items, the self-report survey included measures of spirituality (i.e., the ISS), intrinsic religion, Islamic religion, life satisfaction, and depression. To test the study hypothesis, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted with the ISS using AMOS 22.0, along with tests of association between the ISS and theoretically related constructs (to assess criterion and concurrent validity) using SPSS 22.0.

Results

Regarding the CFA, the measurement model fit the data well [normed χ²=2.50, CFI=0.99, RMSEA=0.07 & SRMR=0.02]. All six items that comprise the ISS demonstrated satisfactory levels of validity (l >.70) and reliability (R²>.50). A Cronbach's α of .93 was obtained with the whole sample, and little variation was apparent across the study’s major ethnic groups [Middle Eastern (.95), Asian (.92), African American (.89), European American (.93)].

Regarding criterion validity, the ISS correlated with the measures of intrinsic religion (.66) and Islamic religion (.59) in a strong manner that also suggested the ISS taps a construct (i.e., spirituality) that is related to, but distinct, from religion. Concurrent validity was demonstrated by the fact that the ISS correlated positively with life satisfaction (r=.32, p <.01) and negatively with depression (r= -.13, p<.05). All relationships, along with the measures used to operationalize the underlying constructs, are consistent with existing theory, research, and common practice validating spirituality measures.

Conclusion and Implications

The results suggest the ISS is a valid measure of spirituality with the rapidly growing Muslim population. As the first spirituality measure validated with American Muslims, the study has important implications for practice. The use of measures that “make sense” within the context of an Islamic worldview is critical to effective service provision, helping foster trust and therapeutic rapport. The ISS may also provide an efficient screening tool to identify Muslims that are particularly likely to benefit from spiritually or culturally-accommodative treatments, such as spiritually modified CBT.