An Evaluation of the Construct Validity of the Spiritual Weil-Being Scale: A Confirmatory Factor Analytic Approach

Abstract

The construct validity of the Spiritual Wall-Being Scale (SWBS) was examined utilizing Confirmatory Factor Analysis (LISREL). One- and two-dimensional models were investigated in two religious samples (Davis, Longfellow, Moody, & Moynihan, 1987; Huggins, 1988). Fit to the models was assessed using the chisquare statistic, the ratio of chisquare relative to its degrees of freedom, the Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index, and the Tucker-Lewis Index as goodness of fit indicators. The fit was quite poor for both the one- and two-dimensional models. Although the two-factor model was superior to the one-factor model, neither model provided a good conceptualization of the factor structure of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale in these samples. These results suggest that, contrary to Ellison's two factor conceptualization and a postulated general factor model, the SWBS may be factorially complex. This complexity makes interpretation of scores ambiguous.