WHOQOL Spirituality, Religiousness and Personal Beliefs (SRPB)

Abstract

The WHOQOL Spirituality, Religiousness and Personal Beliefs (SRPB) module is a cross-culturally validated psychological assessment instrument developed by the WHOQOL Group as an indispensable extension to the core World Health Organization Quality of Life (QOL) instruments (WHOQOL-100 and WHOQOL-BREF). This module was specifically designed to evaluate the influence of spiritual, religious, and profound personal beliefs on an individual’s subjective well-being and overall quality of life across diverse international settings.

Unlike the core instrument domains, the SRPB module focuses on existential and transcendental aspects of life, capturing dimensions such as meaning and purpose, inner peace, spiritual strength, and faith. Its development recognized the critical role these beliefs play in coping, adaptation, and health outcomes globally, ensuring that QOL assessment is holistic and culturally sensitive.

Keywords

Quality of Life, Spirituality, Religiousness, Personal Beliefs, WHOQOL, SRPB, Psychometrics, Cross-cultural assessment, Inner peace, Meaning in life.

Authors

WHOQOL Group

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SRPB module is to provide a standardized, internationally applicable measure of the spiritual domain of Quality of Life. This module ensures that assessments of health and well-being are comprehensive by including a dimension often excluded from traditional health metrics but which is vital for many populations.

The scale aims to quantify how an individual’s personal beliefs or connection to a spiritual being or essence contributes to their ability to cope with hardship, find comfort, and maintain psychological coherence. It serves as a crucial tool in medical, public health, and psychological research, particularly when studying chronic illness, palliative care, and cross-cultural mental health.

Construct

The SRPB module measures the psychological construct of Spiritual Well-being, defined broadly to encompass non-denominational spiritual experiences alongside specific religious and personal belief systems. This comprehensive construct is broken down into eight distinct facets, focusing on the individual’s inner experience rather than external practices.

The measured facets move beyond conventional religious practice to include universal existential concerns, such as the search for meaning, the experience of awe, and the sense of integration between mind, body, and soul. This multidimensional approach allows researchers to isolate specific spiritual components contributing to overall QOL.

Validity

The development of the SRPB module involved rigorous international pilot studies and field trials to establish strong content and face validity across numerous languages and cultures. The WHOQOL Group utilized extensive qualitative research (focus groups) to ensure the items reflected locally relevant concepts of Spirituality and belief systems.

Construct validity is supported by findings indicating that the SRPB domain is distinct from, yet moderately correlated with, the core psychological and social domains of the WHOQOL instrument. This confirms that the SRPB module measures a unique aspect of QOL. Known-groups validity has been established by demonstrating that the module can effectively distinguish between groups known to differ in spiritual commitment or those facing significant existential challenges.

Reliability

Internal consistency, generally measured using Cronbach’s alpha, has been consistently reported as high for the SRPB module across various populations, often exceeding the standard threshold for research instruments. This indicates strong coherence among the 32 items designed to measure the underlying construct.

Temporal stability (test-retest reliability) has also been evaluated, showing that the SRPB scores are stable over reasonable periods, suggesting that the spiritual and personal belief framework measured by the scale represents a relatively enduring psychological trait rather than a transient state.

Factor Analysis

Factor analysis performed during the module’s refinement confirmed the structure of the SRPB domain, supporting the theoretical delineation of the construct into eight distinct facets. While the overall SRPB module can be scored as a single domain, multivariate analysis reveals the underlying components:

• S1: Spiritual Connection
• S2: Meaning & Purpose In Life
• S3: Experiences of Awe & Wonder
• S4: Wholeness & Integration
• S5: Spiritual Strength
• S6: Inner Peace
• S7: Hope & Optimism
• S8: Faith

These eight facets provide a detailed profile of an individual’s spiritual well-being, allowing for nuanced interpretation of the impact of beliefs on health and life satisfaction.

Instrument

Test Type:

Self-report Psychological Scale; Domain Extension Module for Quality of Life Assessment.

Format:

32 items, utilizing various 5-point Likert-type response scales (A through H) depending on the nature of the question (e.g., frequency, intensity, satisfaction).

Language Available:

Available in numerous languages globally, supported by the World Health Organization’s translation and cultural adaptation protocols.

Population Group:

Adults and older adolescents in both general and clinical populations, including those with severe health conditions.

Age Group:

Typically 18 years and older.

Population Details:

The scale is specifically developed for cross-cultural use, ensuring applicability regardless of the respondent’s specific religious affiliation or lack thereof.

Test Methodology:

Quantitative assessment via structured questionnaire. Raw scores are summed and transformed to yield domain scores typically ranging from 0 to 100, where higher scores indicate better spiritual quality of life.

Keywords

Spiritual Well-being, Existential Meaning, Inner Strength, Cross-cultural Psychometrics, Health Outcomes, Faith, QOL Assessment, Life Purpose, Transcendence.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier:

N/A (Developed by the collaborative WHOQOL Group, an international network of researchers.)

Affiliation Email addresses:

Refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) Quality of Life Program documentation.

Correspondence Address:

World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The SRPB module was developed by the WHOQOL Group, with foundational work dating back to 1994, and the full SRPB module finalized later in the process. The instrument is intended for non-commercial research and clinical use, often requiring formal registration and permission from the WHO for use and translation, though typically free of charge for academic or non-profit purposes.

The most recent official revision of the documentation cited in the source material is from 2012.

Reference’s

The original PDF documentation for the instrument can be downloaded here: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/77778/1/WHO_MSD_MER_Rev.2012.05_eng.pdf?ua=1

The instrument documentation can be found at: http://www.who.int/mental_health/publications/whoqol/en/

• WHOQOL Group. (1993). Study protocol for the World Health Organization project to develop a quality of life assessment instrument (WHOQOL). Qual Life Res, 2:153–159.
• WHOQOL Group. (1994). The development of the World Health Organization quality of life assessment instrument (the WHOQOL). In: Orley J, Kuyken W, eds. Quality of life assessment: international perspectives. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1994:41–57.
• WHOQOL Group. (1998). Development of the World Health Organization WHOQOLBREF quality of life assessment. Psychol Med, 28:551–558.
• Bonomi, A.E., Patrick, D.L., Bushnell, D.M., et al. (2000). Validation of the United States’ version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) instrument. J Clin Epidemiol 2000;53:1–12.
• McDowell, Ian. (2006). Measuring Health: A Guide to Rating Scales and Questionnaires, Third Edition. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Items of the WHOQOL Spirituality‚ Religiousness and Personal Beliefs (SRPB)

WHOQOL Spirituality‚ Religiousness and Personal Beliefs (SRPB) Items (1-32):

1. To what extent does any connection to a spiritual being help you to get through hard times? (A)
2. To what extent does any connection to a spiritual being help you to tolerate stress? (A)
3. To what extent does any connection to a spiritual being help you to understand others? (A)
4. To what extent does any connection to a spiritual being provide you with comfort /reassurance? (A)
5. To what extent do you find meaning in life? (A)
6. To what extent does taking care of other people provide meaning of life for you? (A)
7. To what extent do you feel your life has a purpose? (A)
8. To what extent do you feel you are here for a reason? (A)
9. To what extent do you feel inner spiritual strength? (A)
10. To what extent can you find spiritual strength in difficult times? (A)
11. To what extent does faith contribute to your well-being? (A)
12. To what extent does faith give you comfort in daily life? (A)
13. To what extent does faith give you strength in daily life? (A)
14. To what extent do you feel spiritually touched by beauty? (B)
15. To what extent do you have feelings of inspiration / excitement in your life? (B)
16. To what extent are you grateful for the things in nature that you can enjoy? (B)
17. How hopeful do you feel? (B)
18. To what extent are you hopeful about your life? (B)
19. To what extent are you able to experience awe from your surroundings? (e.g. nature‚ art‚ music) (D)
20. To what extent do you feel any connection between your mind‚ body and soul? (D)
21. To what extent do you feel the way you live is consistent with what you feel and think? (D)
22. How much do your beliefs help you to cr‎eate coherence between what you do‚ think and feel? (D)
23. How much does spiritual strength help you to live better? (D)
24. To what extent does your spiritual strength help you to feel happy in life? (D)
25. To what extent do you feel peaceful within yourself? (D)
26. To what extent do you have inner peace? (D)
27. How much are you able to feel peaceful when you need to? (D)
28. To what extent do you feel a sense of harmony in your life? (D)
29. To what extent does being optimistic improve your quality of life? (D)
30. How able are you to remain optimistic in times of uncertainty? (D)
31. To what extent does faith help you to enjoy life? (D)
32. How satisfied are you that you have a balance between mind‚ body and soul? (E)

Response Scales:

A. 1 Not at all; 2 A little; 3 A moderate amount; 4 Very much; 5 An extreme amount

B. 1 Not at all; 2 Slightly; 3 Moderately; 4 Very; 5 Extremely

C. 1 Not at all; 2 Slightly; 3 Moderately; 4 Very well; 5 Extremely

D. 1 Not at all; 2 A little; 3 Moderately; 4 Mostly; 5 Completely

E. 1 Very dissatisfied; 2 Dissatisfied; 3 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied; 4 Satisfied; 5 very satisfied

F. 1 Very unhappy; 2 Unhappy; 3 Neither happy nor unhappy; 4 Happy; 5 Very happy

G. 1 Very poor; 2 Poor; 3 Neither poor nor good; 4 Good; 5 Very good

H. 1 Never; 2 Seldom; 3 Quite often; 4 Very often; 5 Always