Assessing Spiritual

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Assessing Spiritual Religious People

• Philip Dodgson, PhD, CPsych
• Southdown Institute

pdodgson_at_southdown.on.ca
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Religion, Spirituality, Science

• Competitors, mutually exclusive?
• Most people have some kind of faith (even
  scientists)
• Religion and spirituality have maintained a
  strong hold on us

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Roots

• Understanding our origins
• Purpose/meaning of life
• System of values/ethics
• Explaining the unexplainable

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• Do you consider yourself to be religious?
• Not at all
• Less than most people
• About as much as most people
• More than most people
• Much more than most people

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Contentious Terms

• Religion, Spirituality, Faith
• Religiosity Religious commitment, belief in
  doctrine, frequency of participation in
  faith-related activity
• Spirituality Phenomenological and philosophical
  approach to faith
• ReligionSpirituality MedicineHealth

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Tests

• Many tests available rapid growth in development
  in 1980s and 1990s.
• Hill Hood (1999). Measures of Religiosity.
  100 standardized measures
• Natural links between personality psychology and
  religion/spirituality

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MacDonald (2000). J. of Pers.

• Examined latent factor structure among 11
  spirituality measures
• Identified 5 dimensions
• Cognitive orientation
• Experience/phenomenology
• Existential well-being
• Paranormal beliefs
• General religiousness

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Elements of Assessment

• Family background
• Individuals level of engagement with their
  family in religious practice
• Individuals sense of relationship with a divine
  entity
• How faith/religion inform life in regard to
  choices of relationships, work, and other
  activities

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Assessing Religious People

• Major influences on religious and spiritual
  development.
• Developmental course of the relationship with
  God.
• How is faith enacted? Structure/routine?
  Orthodoxy?

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Assessing Religious People II

• Are there any spiritual crisis points?
• What is going well/not so well currently?
• What is the nature of the relationship, if any,
  to a larger community?

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Summary

• Religion/spirituality are common substantial
  elements of the clinical picture
• Many measures are available some limitations
• Research shows links with health, coping, and
  personality
• Clinicians are encouraged to boldly explore this
  domain with clients