Background. For over two decades, resourcefulness has been operationalized in personal and social dimensions. Yet, correlational studies and journals from caregivers suggest spiritual practices may constitute a third dimension. This study describes the development and testing of a measure of a spiritual dimension of resourcefulness.
Research Questions. Research questions were: 1) What are the conceptual components of spiritual resourcefulness? 2) Which items comprise the most representative pool of items capturing spiritual resourcefulness? 3) What is the internal consistency and validity of the proposed spiritual resourcefulness scale?
Sample Characteristics/Size. This study involved a five-member focus group to develop the spiritual resourcefulness items, a five-member expert panel who established item responses, and 234 family caregivers who field-tested the initial scale from which the final scale evolved.
Design. The five-phase study involved: 1) development of item stems and responses; 2) expert testing of items; 3) scale construction; 4) field testing of proposed spiritual resourcefulness items; 5) psychometric analysis to determine items for the final scale.
Results. A focus group developed 40 item stems with potential responses reflecting three conceptual components of spiritual practices (rational, ritualistic, relational). Content experts selected the best response for each item. A six-point Likert scale consistent with the existing Resourcefulness Scale© was constructed. Data from field-testing were factor analyzed. The best solution revealed two factors containing 12 items. Ritualistic and relational items loaded together: loadings=.81-.87, 44.7% variance explained, alpha=.95, correlated r=.34, p<.001 with social resourcefulness. Rational items loaded separately: loadings .54-.80, 19.5% variance explained, alpha=.80), correlated r=.54, p<.001 with personal resourcefulness.
Scientific Contributions. The findings indicate the spiritual resourcefulness items reflect the personal and social dimensions of resourcefulness. Availability of a psychometrically sound measure of spiritual resourcefulness is critical for future research to expand the resourcefulness training interventions by adding a spiritual dimension to the personal and social dimensions In addition, clinical interventions to promote holistic health can be enriched by including personal, social, and spiritual resourcefulness skills.