Spirituality in Australia: Psychometric structure and association with religious institutions and psychological well-being

Abstract

The current study investigated the dimensions of spirituality in an Australian context, its association with religious institutions, and with psychological well-being. An Australian community sample of 104 men and 195 women (ages ranging from 18-22 to 60 and above) provided data for an exploratory factor analysis that was used to develop a new spirituality scale. A second community sample of 112 men and 203 women of similar ages provided data for subsequent confirmatory factor analysis of the model. The second sample also answered questions about their personal and culture of upbringing association with religious institutions, and responded to a measure of psychological well-being. The spirituality model explained 74% of the variance in the first sample data. Confirmatory factor analysis with the second sample showed encouraging results for the model. Significant differences in spirituality scores were found between religious and non-religious participants. No significant differences in spirituality scores were found between Judeo-Christian participants and participants with other religious orientations. In general, spirituality scores were significantly and positively correlated with psychological well-being.