Validation of the Persian version of the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) in Pregnant Women: A Proper Tool to Assess Spirituality Related to Mental Health

Abstract

Assessing spirituality in healthy pregnant women may lead to supportive interventions that will improve their care. A psychometrically valid measure such as the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) may be helpful in this regard. The current study sought to adapt a Persian version of DSES for use in pregnancy. A total of 377 pregnant women were recruited from three general hospitals located in Tehran, Iran. Administered scales were the DSES, Duke University Religion Index, Santa Faith scale, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, as well as demographic measures.Reliability of the DSES was tested using Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for test-retest stability. Scale validity was assessed by criterion-related tests, known-groups comparison, and exploratory factor analysis. Participant's mean age was 27.7 (4.1), and most were nulliparous (70%). The correlation coefficient between individual items on the scale and the total score was greater than 0.30 in most cases. Cronbach's alpha for the scale was 0.90. The ICC for 2-week test-retest reliability was high (0.86). Relationships between similar and dissimilar scales indicated acceptable convergent and divergent validity. The factor structure of the scale indicated a single factor that explained 59% of the variance. The DSES was found to be a reliable and valid measure of spirituality in pregnant Iranian women. This scale may be used to examine the relationship between spirituality and health outcomes, research that may lead to supportive interventions in this population.

Psychometrics Properties of the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale in a Romanian Clinical Sample. A Pilot Study

“…The reliability of the DSES in both groups was confirmed by the high Cronbach's alpha value (0.917, respectively 0.964). The result of our study is comparable to those reported in other studies, in which the alpha coefficient was above 0.90 (Kalkstein & Tower, 2009;Ellison & Fan, 2008;Ng et al, 2009;Mayoral et al, 2010;McCauley et al, 2008;Saffari et al, 2017;Soósová & Mauer, 2021). Cronbach's alpha did not increase if particular items were removed from the scale, except for items 13 ("I feel a selfless caring for others.")…”

The Relationship between Daily Spiritual Experiences and the Dimensions of Spiritual Care Competence in Nursing Students: The Dimension of Professionalization and Improvement of the Quality of Spiritual Care

“…Findings of the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) revealed a single factor that explained 59% of the total scale variance. [ 28 ] In the present study, the reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated through internal consistency, and Cronbach’s alpha for the entire questionnaire was reported to be 0.89, suggesting its good reliability.…”

How Do Iranian Researchers Measure Spirituality in Health Studies? A Scoping Review

“…There are five questionnaires that evaluate spirituality and have been frequently administered in spirituality health studies. Daily Spiritual Experience Scale ( 30 ), Parsian and Dunning's Spirituality Questionnaire ( 31 ), Spiritual Assessment Inventory (SAI) ( 32 ), Spirituality Perspective Scale ( 33 ), and Spiritual Attitude and Ability Questionnaire ( 34 ). They generally evaluate spiritual beliefs, behaviors, awareness and ability.…”