How does one become spiritual? The Spiritual Modeling Inventory of Life Environments (SMILE)

We report psychometric properties, correlates and underlying theory of the Spiritual Modeling Index of Life Environments (SMILE), a measure of perceptions of spiritual models, defined as everyday and prominent people who have functioned for respondents as exemplars of spiritual qualities, such as compassion, self-control, or faith. Demographic, spiritual, and personality correlates were examined in an ethnically diverse sample of college students from California, Connecticut, and Tennessee (N=1010). A summary measure of model influence was constructed from perceived models within family, school, religious organization, and among prominent individuals from both tradition and media. The SMILE, based on concepts from Bandura\u27s (1986) Social Cognitive Theory, was well-received by respondents. The summary measure demonstrated good 7-week test/retest reliability (r=.83); patterns of correlation supporting convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity; demographic differences in expected directions; and substantial individual heterogeneity. Implications are discussed for further research and for pastoral, educational, and health-focused interventions

Spirituality as an Essential Determinant for the Good Life, its Importance Relative to Self-Determinant Psychological Needs

This study focuses on the relevance of spirituality as an essential element for the Good Life. Despite spirituality’s prominence in people’s lives and cultures, it has been mostly neglected in psychological needs theories. This paper investigates the value of spirituality compared to that of the three basic psychological needs of self-determination theory: relatedness, competence and autonomy. In a scenario study design, participants in two samples (students and train passengers) were asked to judge a survey on the personal well-being of an imaginary person. The results show that spirituality positively contributes to the qualification of a good life, in terms of desirability and moral goodness. In addition, the crucial role of relatedness was confirmed

Perceived spirituality, mindfulness and quality of life in psychiatric patients

There is some evidence of the relationship between spirituality and quality of life, but there are few bibliographic references on these constructs for patients suffering from mental illness; thus, this study was aimed at revealing the possible role of spiritual outlooks as a protective factor in these individuals. The sample consisted of 96 Portuguese psychiatric patients, selected from a psychiatric hospital and assessed based on parameters for quality of life, spirituality and mindfulness. The data support some theories about the nature of the spirituality. Spiritual beliefs are poorly correlated with the quality of life index, and there is a moderate association between these beliefs and some aspects of mindfulness. It is suggested that a spiritual outlook of psychiatric patients should be taken into account in psychological interventions

Measuring Spirituality as a Universal Human Experience: A Review of Spirituality Questionnaires

Spirituality is an important theme in health research, since a spiritual orientation can help people to cope with the consequences of a serious disease. Knowledge on the role of spirituality is, however, limited, as most research is based on measures of religiosity rather than spirituality. A questionnaire that transcends specific beliefs is a prerequisite for quantifying the importance of spirituality among people who adhere to a religion or none at all. In this review, we discuss ten questionnaires that address spirituality as a universal human experience. Questionnaires are evaluated with regard to psychometric properties, item formulation and confusion with well-being and distress. Although none of the questionnaires fulfilled all the criteria, the multidimensional Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire is promising

Mindfulness in positive psychology: the science of meditation and wellbeing [Itai Ivtzan and Tim Lomas (eds.): Routledge, London, UK, 2016, 348]

This publication is the latest volume to bring together two prominent themes in contemporary psychological science: mindfulness and positive psychology. The editors, Ivtzan and Lomas 2016, based at the University of East London, are well versed in both. Over the last 10 years, the group of academics associated with the London-based Masters in Applied Positive Psychology have maintained a relentless output of publication. Their expanding list of authored and edited volumes, which now amounts to a small library of leading texts, is governed by two complementary intentions: to disseminate positive psychology through introductory textbooks (Hefferon and Boniwell 2011; Lomas et al. 2014), and to challenge the field in various directions. Previous works have challenged the tendency in positive psychology to ignore embodiment (Hefferon 2013), its frequent failure to acknowledge the darker side of life (Ivtzan et al. 2015), and its acritical adherence to some of its most prominent theories (Brown et al. 2017)

Spirituality: everyone has it, but what is it?

Spirituality has been the subject of discussion over many years, yet understanding its nature, and usefulness during illness, can be elusive. Nurses and other health-care practitioners can often be in the position to help patients discuss spiritual matters because of their direct contact on a frequent basis, but might not feel confident to do so because the subject can appear to be overly complex. This paper summarizes some of the essential elements of spirituality as synthesized from literature that refers to it. The literature draws attention to spirit as the core of a person's being, and the notion that spirituality comprises multiple dimensions that exist internally or become externally manifest through behaviours. The presence and use of spirituality can lead to such outcomes as peace of mind, self-fulfilment and alleviation of suffering. Underpinning all spirituality is the concept of transcendence where a person can be ‘lifted up’ above the challenges of illness