Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Spirituality Index of Well-Being (SIWB) Scale in a patient population.
Study design: Cross-sectional survey.
Population: Community-dwelling elderly individuals (n = 277) recruited from primary care clinic sites in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Outcomes measured: Internal consistency, concurrent construct validity, discriminant validity, and factor analysis with Varivax rotation.
Results: The initial version of the SIWB contained 40 items: 20 from a self-efficacy domain and 20 from a life scheme domain. Factor analysis yielded 6 items loaded most strongly on factor 1 (intrapersonal self-efficacy) and 6 other items loaded strongly on factor 2 (life scheme). The Self-efficacy subscale had an alpha of.83 and the Life Scheme subscale had an alpha of.80; the total 12-item SIWB Scale had an alpha of.87. The SIWB had significant and expected correlations with other quality-of-life measures related to subjective well-being: EuroQol (r =.18), Geriatric Depression Scale (r = -35), the Physical Functioning Index from the Short Form 36 (r =.28), and the Years of Healthy Life Scale (r = -.35). Religiosity did not correlated significantly with the SIWB (r =.12, P =.056).
Conclusions: The 12-item SIWB Scale is a valid and reliable measure of subjective well-being in an older patient population.