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Psychometric Testing of the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale Among African Americans in the Jackson Heart Study

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An Erratum to this article was published on 26 September 2009

Abstract

This study provided the first examination of the psychometric properties of the 6-item Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) in a large African American sample, the Jackson Heart Study (JHS). The JHS included measures of spiritual (DSES) and religious practices. Internal reliability, dimensionality, fit indices, and correlation were assessed. DSES scores reflected frequent daily spiritual experiences (12.84 ± 4.72) and reliability scores were high (α = 0.85; 95% CI 0.84–0.86). The DSES loaded on a single factor, with significant goodness-of-fit scores (RMSEA = 0.094, P < 0.01). Moderate significant correlations were noted among DSES items. Our findings confirm that the 6-item DSES had excellent psychometric properties in this sample.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by NIH contracts N01-HC-95170, N01-HC-95171, and N01-HC-95172 that were provided for the Jackson Heart Study by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, and an Ambassadorial Scholarship from Rotary International.

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Correspondence to Fleetwood Loustalot.

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An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10943-009-9289-z

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Loustalot, F., Wyatt, S.B., Sims, M. et al. Psychometric Testing of the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale Among African Americans in the Jackson Heart Study. J Relig Health 50, 675–685 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-009-9278-2

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