Cross-Cultural Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale: A Systematic Review.

Since spiritual well-being has a significant role in individual and social health, using a valid scale to identify these properties is essential. Comparing factor structure and differences in the number of dimensions and items of subscales could be an indicator of differences in individuals' attitudes toward spirituality among diverse cultures. The present review was performed for psychometric evaluation of the spiritual well-being measures. A systematic review of international databases and Iranian databases was conducted to evaluate studies published between January 1, 1970, and October 1, 2022. QUADAS-2, STARD, and COSMIN scales were used for risk of bias assessment. Following two rounds of screening, 14 articles entered quality assessment. According to the results, studies examining the factor structure of the spiritual well-being scale (SWBS) instrument have been conducted for the years 1998 to 2022. The mean age of the participants in these studies ranged from 20.8 to 79.08 years. During the process of exploratory factor analysis, the researchers reported the presence of two to five latent factors, and the range of explained variance was between 35.6 and 71.4%. However, most of the reports indicated the existence of two or three latent factors. The findings of the present study provide an image of the psychometric status of the SWBS for researchers and clinicians in this field and can help them make optimum decisions in selecting a scale or conducting additional psychometric studies or adopting this scale for studies in new populations.

A path analysis model of spiritual well-being and quality of life in Iranian cancer patients: a mediating role of hope.

PURPOSE: Maintenance of quality of life (QOL) is vital for adaptation to life-threatening and chronic illnesses such as cancer. Therefore, the evaluation and strengthening of personal psychological resources that support QOL for patients with cancer is paramount. This study investigated the potential mediating role of hope in the relationship between spiritual well-being and QOL in Iranian cancer patients. METHODS: A correlational predictive design was used with 200 patients with varying types and stage of cancer. Demographic and health characteristic surveys, spiritual well-being (SWB), adult hope, and EORTC QLQ-c30 scales were used for measuring the study constructs. Path analysis modeling was used to determine mediation relationships. RESULTS: Patients' QOL was affected by SWB and hope. Religious (ß = 0.205, p = 0.002) and existential (ß = 0.286, p < 0.001) SWB dimensions and hope (ß = 0.263, p < 0.001) improved QOL scores. The presence of hope partially mediated the relationship between SWB and QOL. CONCLUSION: Quality of life was directly affected by SWB and was further improved by the presence of hope. The study suggests that maintenance of hope is essential to QOL in Iranian patients with cancer.

Attachment: the mediating role of hope, religiosity, and life satisfaction in older adults.

BACKGROUND: Attachment and support from family and friends are core to the experiences of ageing for older adults. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between attachment styles and hope, religiosity, and life satisfaction and provide new knowledge that may assist future planning for a rapidly ageing global population. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 504 Iranian older adult participants from Qazvin province were recruited between December 2015 and April 2016. They completed a questionnaire that included the Revised Adult Attachment Scale, the Life Satisfaction Index-Z, and the Herth Hope Index. RESULTS: Participants in the study had a mean age of 66.20 years (SD: 5.76) and most of them were women (57.5%). A mediation model testing the direct relationships between attachment, hope, religiosity, and life satisfaction showed a positive relationship between close attachment and religiosity (ß = .226, p < .001) and a negative relationship between anxiety attachment and religiosity (ß = - .229, p < .001). Religiosity was positively related to hope (ß = .384, p < .01) and hope was related to life satisfaction (ß = .448, p < .001). Religiosity and hope mediated the relationship between close attachment (ß = .119, p < .001) and anxiety attachment (ß = - .056, p < .01) with life satisfaction. More specifically, while religiosity and hope fully mediated the relationship between close attachment and life satisfaction, they partially mediated the attachment anxiety-life satisfaction link. CONCLUSIONS: Findings of the study provide insight into only a narrow perspective of life satisfaction and attachment given the many and varied variables that influence these constructs. Future research is needed whereby other related variables are introduced into the model to be examined further.

Spirituality and quality of life in women with breast cancer: The role of hope and educational attainment.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated relationships among spirituality, hope, and overall quality of life in Muslim women with breast cancer in Malaysia. METHOD: A cross-sectional descriptive design with a convenience sample of 145 Malay patients was used. The mediating role of hope in the relationship between spirituality and quality of life as well as the moderating effect of education level on the spirituality hope link were examined. RESULTS: Participants with higher self-reported spirituality reported more hope (b = 6.345, p < 0.001) and higher levels of quality of life (b = 1.065, p < 0.001). Higher educational attainment weakened relationships between spirituality and hope (b = -1.460, p < 0.001). SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The role of advanced education in contributing to lessened hope in relation to spirituality emphasizes the importance of skilled and personalized spiritual counseling in the respective socio-cultural religious context.

The Relationship Between Spirituality Dimensions and Death Anxiety among Iranian Veterans: Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship among spiritual intelligence, spiritual well-being and death anxiety among Iranian veterans. In this predictive correlational study, 211 veterans completed King and DeCicco's Spiritual Intelligence Scale, Paloutzian and Ellison's Spiritual Well-being Scale and Templer's Death Anxiety Scale-Extended. After confirming the reliability of the constructs using intra-class correlation coefficient, partial least squares structural equation modeling method was utilized to assess the impact of spiritual well-being and spiritual intelligence on death anxiety. This study found a significant positive relationship between spiritual intelligence and death anxiety after controlling for the effects of age, education level and disability. However, there was a significant negative relationship between spiritual well-being and death anxiety among Iranian veterans. Negative relationships were found between spiritual well-being and death anxiety among Iranian veterans. However, spiritual intelligence had a positive impact on death anxiety.

The translation and psychometric assessment of the perception of empowerment in midwifery scale: the Persian version.

BACKGROUND: A major part of midwifery care involves the empowerment of women and their families for the control of factors affecting their health. To this end, midwives should experience their own empowerment first. The present study was conducted to translate and determine the psychometric properties of the Perception of Empowerment in Midwifery Scale among Iranian midwives. METHODS: A total of 380 people participated in this cross-sectional study. A demographic questionnaire and the 22-item Perception of Empowerment in Midwifery Scale were sent to the participants online. The validity of the scale and the analysis of its main components were carried out through exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation and confirmatory factor analysis. The reliability of the scale was assessed using the internal consistency method with Cronbach's alpha coefficient, average inter-item correlation (AIC) and McDonald's omega. RESULTS: Seventeen scale items were retained after the exploratory factor analysis, and five factors were extracted, including "effective management", "professional practice", "authority", "advocacy", and "professional informant", with factor loadings ranging from 0.489 to 0.899. The five latent factors explained 53.07% of the overall variance of the scale. The confirmatory factor analysis showed an acceptable goodness of fit. The internal consistency of the scale was confirmed with a Cronbach's alpha above 0.7. CONCLUSION: The Persian version of the Perception of Empowerment in Midwifery Scale with 17 items has adequate reliability for midwives working in Iran. Given its appropriate psychometric properties, this scale is fit to be used among midwives in future studies.

The Factor Structure of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale in Veterans Experienced Chemical Weapon Exposure.

This study aimed to determine the factor structure of the spiritual well-being among a sample of the Iranian veterans. In this methodological research, 211 male veterans of Iran-Iraq warfare completed the Paloutzian and Ellison spiritual well-being scale. Maximum likelihood (ML) with oblique rotation was used to assess domain structure of the spiritual well-being. The construct validity of the scale was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), convergent validity, and discriminant validity. Reliability was evaluated with Cronbach's alpha, Theta (θ), and McDonald Omega (Ω) coefficients, intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), and construct reliability (CR). Results of ML and CFA suggested three factors which were labeled "relationship with God," "belief in fate and destiny," and "life optimism." The ICC, coefficients of the internal consistency, and CR were >.7 for the factors of the scale. Convergent validity and discriminant validity did not fulfill the requirements. The Persian version of spiritual well-being scale demonstrated suitable validity and reliability among the veterans of Iran-Iraq warfare.

Effect of acupressure on pain in Iranian leukemia patients: A randomized controlled trial study.

Nonpharmacological methods of pain relief such as acupressure are becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Practitioners often claim that such methods are highly effective and less invasive than analgesic drugs, but available empirical evidence is largely inconclusive. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that, postacupressure intervention, the amount of pain experienced by sampled leukemia patients, who received acupressure in addition to standard care, will reduce substantially compared to patients who received only routine treatment. This controlled trial was undertaken with hospitalized leukemia patients between February and June 2015. Our primary sample consisted of 100 participants who were randomly allocated to 2 groups. One (intervention) group underwent 12 acupressure sessions in addition to standard treatment while the control group received no intervention apart from being given the standard treatment for leukemia. The visual analogue scale was used to measure the levels of pain experienced. No significant differences were found between the 2 groups across 12 interventions. However, each group reported significantly different pain level changes before and after each intervention, suggested that the acupressure method was effective in reducing pain in the short term. Nurses are able to apply this complementary therapy alongside other procedures to manage these patients' pain. It is recommended that further studies be conducted to better understand the specific conditions under which acupressure can provide effective pain relief.

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Spiritual Well-Being Scale in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction.

The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Persian version of Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) in patients with acute myocardial infarction. A multisite, cross-sectional survey was employed to determine the instrument's reliability (Cronbach's α and construct reliability) and validity (face, content, and construct). Using systematic sampling of adult outpatients at primary care clinic sites in the Qazvin City, Iran (N = 300), it was found that the Cronbach's alpha and construct reliability of both factors associated with the SWBS were above 0.7. The construct validity of the scale was determined using exploratory factor analysis. The findings supported two factors: relation with God and relation with life. Further investigation through confirmatory factor analysis (eigenvalues of greater than one) confirmed a third factor construct associated with the SWBS. A total of 50.65 % of the variance were explained by these three factors. The overall findings of the study demonstrated that the SWBS is a valid and reliable instrument that has potential utility in future research and clinical practice settings.