Measuring the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the spirituality questionnaire among university students in South Jordan

Abstract

Spirituality has been recently recognized in many areas around the world as a factor influencing the general health and wellbeing on individuals. There is a scarcity addressing this issue in the Middle East, like many other regions. Perhaps one reason for this is related to the absence of instruments measuring spirituality. The goal of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the spiritual questionnaire in university students in South Jordan. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on data coming from a sample of university students (n=1269). The questionnaire demonstrated validity and reliability. While the confirmatory factor analysis resulted in 29-item model, the exploratory factor analysis resulted in a 21-item model. The main factors in the model were self-awareness, importance of spiritual belief, spiritual practices, and spiritual needs. Spirituality questionnaire demonstrated good validity and reliability levels when used to measure spirituality among university students in Jordan. The 21-item model requires further testing to ensure stability over use. It is crucial in the future to test the impact of spirituality on the general health and wellbeing of adult individuals using the spirituality questionnaire and other research instruments.