This study examined a five-factor model of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS; Ellison, 1983) proposed by Miller, Fleming, and Brown-Anderson (1998). A confirmatory factor analytic procedure was conducted to determine whether the Miller et al. model fit the data for the current sample of African Americans. For comparative purposes, several alternative SWBS models were included in the study's design. The findings indicated that none of the SWBS models provided an adequate fit to the data for the current sample. Implications for future use of the SWBS with African American populations are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AniM. (1990). Let the circle be unbroken: The implications of African spirituality in the Diaspora.New York, NY: Nkonimfo Publications.
2.
BollenK. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables.New York: John Wiley.
3.
ByrneB. M. (2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming.Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
4.
BryantF. B., & YarnoldP. R. (1995). Principal-components analysis and exploratory and confirmatory component analysis. In GrimmL. G., & YarnoldP. R. (Eds.), Reading and understanding multivariate statistics (pp. 99–136). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
5.
BrowneM. W., & CudeckR. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In BollenK. A., & LongJ. S. (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 445–455). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
6.
BuffordR., PaloutzianR., & EllisonC. (1991). Norms for the Spiritual Well-Being Scale.Journal of Psychology and Theology, 19, 56–70.
7.
EllisonC.(1983). Spiritual Well-Being: Conceptualization and measurement.Journal of Psychology and Theology, 11, 330–340.
8.
EllisonR., & PaloutzianC.(1991). Manual for the Spiritual Well-Being Scale.Nyack, NY: Life Advance, Inc.
9.
FassingerR. (1987). Use of structural equation modeling in counseling psychology research.Journal of Counseling Psychology, 34, 425–436.
10.
FernanderA., WilsonJ. F., StatonM., & LeukefeldC. (2004). An exploratory examination of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale among incarcerated Black and White male drug users.International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 48, 403–413.
11.
GeniaV. (2001). Evaluation of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale in a Sample of College Students.International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 11, 25–33.
12.
GorsuchR. L. (1983). Factor analysis (2nd ed.). Hillside, NJ: Erlbaum.
13.
HuL.-T., & BentlerP. M. (1995). Evaluating model fit. In HoyleR. H. (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 76–99). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
14.
KambonK. K. (1998). African/Black psychology in the American context.Tallahassee, FL: Nubian Nation Publications.
15.
KimJ., HeinemannA. W., BodeR. K., SliwaJ., & KingR. B. (2000). Spirituality, quality of life, and functional recovery after medical rehabilitation.Rehabilitation Psychology, 45, 365–385.
16.
LedbetterM. F., SmithL. A., FischerJ. D., Vosler-HunterW. L., & ChewG. P. (1991). An evaluation of the construct validity of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale: A confirmatory factor analytic approach.Journal of Psychology and Theology, 19, 94–102.
17.
MbitiJ. S. (1989). African religions and philosophy (2nd ed.). Oxford: Heinemann.
18.
MillerG., FlemingW, & Brown-AndersonF.(1998). Spiritual Well-Being Scale Ethnic Differences Between Caucasians and African Americans.Journal of Psychology and Theology, 26, 358–364.
19.
MobergD.(1971). Spiritual well-being: Background and issues.Washington, DC: WhiteHouse Conference on Aging.
20.
NewlinK., KnaflK., & MelkusG. D. (2002). African-american spirituality: A concept analysis.Advances in Nursing Science, 25(2), 57–70.
21.
PaloutzianR. F., & EllisonC. W. (1982). Loneliness, spiritual well-being, and quality of life. In PeplauL. A., & PerlmanD. (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook for current theory, research, and therapy.New York: Wiley Interscience.
22.
PaloutzianR. F., & EllisonC. W. (1979, August). Developing a measure of spiritual well-being. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association convention, New York, NY.
23.
StewartC. F. (1999). Black spirituality and Black consciousness: Soul force, culture, and freedom in the African American experience.Trenton, NJ: African World Press.
