Spiritual assessment in African-Americans: a review of measures of spirituality used in health research

Abstract

Background: A number of instruments have been developed for investigating relationships between spirituality and health, and have been used to assess spirituality in African-Americans. Yet, the cultural appropriateness for African-Americans of these instruments has not been investigated to date.

Objectives: To evaluate the construct validity and reliability of spirituality measures used in health research from 1982 to 2005.

Method: Systematic review of the literature.

Results: Thirty five studies and five measures of spirituality met the inclusion criteria. Most of the spirituality measures were developed in primarily Caucasian-American samples. African-Americans were represented in 71% of the studies (n = 25) using spirituality measures in health research. Distinct cultural attributes of African-American spirituality were omitted in most of the spirituality measures. Two studies were retrieved in which psychometric evaluation was conducted in entirely African-American samples.

Discussion: Spirituality is a significant cultural experience and belief that influences the health behaviors of African-Americans. The lack of a culturally appropriate measure of African-American spirituality is a major limitation of studies investigating spirituality and health in this population. Development of a culturally appropriate and sensitive measure of spirituality in African-Americans is suggested to strengthen the quality of research in this area.