Assessment, Statistics, and Research

Completing a set of scales is not always the best way to assess spirituality at the beginning of psychotherapy. Nevertheless, I agree with others (e.g., Richards, et al., 2015; Worthington et al., 1996) that the assessment of spirituality is important to counseling and psychotherapy because so many people report that their faith is important to them and many prefer to receive psychotherapy from someone who shares their faith or at least respects their faith. The assessment of spirituality in the context of psychotherapy should also be in the context of other assessment such as within the SCOPES model where spirituality, if important to a patient, is usually a part of the self-identity and interconnected with their emotions, thoughts, social relationships, and personality ( See the SCOPES model for details ). In this post, I will review suggestions from Richards et al. (2015) and include a link to other posts containing measures from which clinicians can draw questions to use in clinic...

  Scale name: Workplace Arrogance Scale (WARS) Scale overview: The 26-item Workplace Arrogance Scale measures arrogance in the workplace based on self-report using a 5-point rating scale. Authors: Russell E. Johnson of Michigan State University and others—see the article reference for the author list. Response Type: A 5-point Likert type rating scale from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree Sample items: 1. Believes that s/he knows better than everyone else in any given situation 2. Makes decisions that impact others without listening to their input Reliability: The 26-item WARS alpha was .93 in Johnson et al., 2010. Validity Factor analysis indicated a one-factor scale. Arrogance was positively correlated with dominance, anger, superiority, entitlement, and vanity. Arrogance was negatively correlated with humility, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and self-sufficiency. Arrogance was not related to authority. Availability: See Table A1 on page 427 ...

Scale name: Oldenburg Burnout Inventory OLBI Scale overview: The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) measures multiple aspects of worker burnout with 16 items addressing 1. Exhaustion (physical, cognitive, affective) and 2. Disengagement from work (negative attitudes).   Read more about burnout Authors: Demerouti et al. Response Type: 4-point Likert-type Strongly Agree = 1 Agree = 2 Disagree = 3 Strongly Disagree = 4   Subscales (with item numbers):     Exhaustion   (2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16)   Disengagement (1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15) Sample items   I always find new and interesting aspects in my work   I always find new and interesting aspects in my work Reliability Validity: Researchers have studied the factor structure in several samples. Availability An online version was available at this link https://www.mdapp.co/oldenburg-burnout-inventory-olbi-calculator-606/ The link above also included a full...

  Scale name: Biblical Conservatism Measure Scale overview: The Biblical Conservatism Measure is a 4-item scale designed to assess conservative beliefs about the Bible, Koran, or Torah. Authors: Weyand, O’Laughlin, & Bennett Response Type: Items are rated on a 4-point Likert type scale from 1 = strongly disagree and 4 – strongly agree. Sample item: The Bible/Koran/Torah/other religious text is God’s word and everything will happen exactly as it says.   Psychometrics : In the 2013 study 1, M = 10.07, SD = 3.4 Reliability: Internal consistency = .75 (Weyand et al., (2013). Validity: See how the measure performed with other measures in the full article below. Availability:   See the PsycTESTS reference for the items. Permissions   “Test content may be reproduced and used for non-commercial research and educational purposes without seeking written permission.   Distribution must be controlled.”  Other measures used in the ...

  Scale name: Faith Situations Questionnaire FSQ Scale overview: Caregivers provide information about the presence and severity of 19 child behavior problems in faith situations. Scores may be compared to norms for children age 5-12. Authors: Hathaway, Douglas, & Grabowski Response Type: Raters answer each item as present or absent and if present, the item is rated on a 9-point scale where 9 = the highest severe rating. Sample items: Instructions: Does your child present any problems with compliance to instructions, commands, or rules for you in any of these situations? If so, please circle the word Yes and then circle a number beside that situation that describes how severe the problem is for you. If your child is not a problem in a situation, circle No and go on to the next situation on the form.                When saying prayers During a religious instruction class, such as Sunday school, catechism ...

  Scale name: Measure of Atheist Discrimination Experiences Scale overview: The 24-item Measure of Atheist Discrimination Experiences (MADE) was designed to evaluate the stress experiences of people who identify as atheists using a 6-point rating scale. Authors: Brewster, M. E., Hammer, J., Sawyer, J. S., Eklund, A., & Palamar, J. Response Type:   6-point Likert-type; 1 = never, 6 = almost all of the time Subscales: There are five factors Immoral Bringing Shame Asked to Pass Overt Maltreatment Social Ostracism   Sample items Immoral - I have been told that, as an atheist, I cannot be a moral person.   Bringing Shame - I have been told that I am selfish because I am atheist.   Asked to Pass - I have been asked to go along with religious traditions to avoid “stirring up trouble.”   Overt Maltreatment - People have denied me services because of my atheism.   Social Ostracism - Because of my atheism, others h...