sections, with an overall 15 /C045 range. Adding child and adult history sections produces a total score with a
range of 20 /C060 for the brief religious history section.
Sample
A three-item version was administered to an adolescent sample in Boston ( N5305; aged 12 /C018 years; 34%
Catholic, 29% Christian/Protestant, 11% none; 67% female; 34% Black, 40% Hispanic, 15% Caucasian) ( Harris
et al., 2008 ).
Reliability
Internal Consistency
When administered in the adolescent sample above, that 3-item version of the religious history scale was
found to have a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.86 ( Harris et al., 2008 ).
Test/C0Retest
The 1-week test /C0retest reliability coefficient for the 3-item version based on a sample of 93 adolescents was
0.45 ( Harris et al., 2008 ).
Validity
Convergent/Concurrent
Certain items on the religious history scale, such as having a life-changing religious experience and being a
born-again Christian, are positively correlated with other religious measures ranging from 0.32 to 0.47 and 0.37 to
0.49, respectively ( Idler et al., 2003 ).
Divergent/Discriminant
Discriminant validity is suggested by a very low correlation with negative religious coping (0.06), although to
our knowledge, there is no information available on relationships with non-religious psychosocial variables.
Construct/Factor Analytic
To our knowledge, factor analysis has not been carried out on this scale to-date.
Criterion/Predictive
To our knowledge, no information is available on criterion/predictive validity.
Location
George, L.K. (1999). Religious/spiritual history. In Multidimensional measurement of religiousness/spirituality for
use in health research (pp. 68 /C069). Kalamazoo, MI: Fetzer Institute.
Results and Comments
The internal consistency of the 3-item RHS used in adolescents is solid (0.86) and test /C0retest reliability is ade-
quate (0.45) ( Harris et al., 2008 ). The fact that it is only moderately correlated with other measures of religiosity
suggests that instrument may be measuring something distinctive that other measures are not capturing ( Idler
et al., 2003 ). Although psychometric characteristics need to be developed for the long form of the RHS in adults,
this is probably the best scale available that attempts to measure lifetime exposure to religion.
Permission is not required for use of the RHS scale.
RELIGIOUS/SPIRITUAL HISTORY /C0SHORT FORM
Did you ever have a religious or spiritual experience
that changed your life?
1)No 2)Yes
If YES, How old were you when this experience
occurred? ___Notes :www.gem-beta.org/public/DownloadMeasure.
aspx?mid 51155. (Retrieved September 26, 2013).
Reproduced with permission.543 SINGLE DIMENSIONAL SCALES
V. VICES AND VIRTUES