Psychometric Evaluation of the Spanish and English Versions of the Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale

Abstract

The Spiritual Coping Strategies (SCS) Scale measures how frequently religious and nonreligious (spiritual) coping strategies are used to cope with a stressful experience. This study's purpose is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the newly translated Spanish version of the SCS. A total of 51 bilingual adults completed the SCS in Spanish and English, with 25 completing them again 2-3 weeks later. Internal consistency reliability for the Spanish (r = 0.83) and English (r = 0.82) versions of the SCS in the total sample were good. Test-retest reliability was .84 for the Spanish and .80 for the English version. Spanish and English responses to the SCS items and the resulting score for the subscales and the total scale were not significantly different. Scores on the English and Spanish versions were correlated as expected with time since the stressful event and happiness with family and with spouse or partner, supporting the validity of the Spanish SCS. Study findings support the reliability and validity of the newly translated Spanish SCS.