Description

The Dedication to the Sacred (DS) Scale is a psychometric tool developed to measure an individual’s degree of dedication and commitment to the sacred or the divine. This scale assesses the intensity and quality of the individual’s relationship with the divine, their spiritual practices, and the significance they attribute to the sacred aspects of life.

Objective

The primary objective of the DS Scale is to provide a reliable and valid means of measuring individuals’ dedication to the sacred. This tool helps in understanding how dedication to the divine influences mental and physical health, well-being, moral values, and behavior. It is widely used in research contexts to study the relationship between spirituality and various psychological and social factors.

Analysis

The DS Scale consists of a series of statements that assess various aspects of an individual’s dedication to the divine. Participants are asked to rate their agreement or disagreement with each statement, covering the following dimensions:
Personal Relationship with the Sacred: Assesses the intensity and quality of an individual’s personal relationship with the divine.
Spiritual Practices: Includes regular spiritual activities such as prayer, meditation, and other forms of worship.
Sacred Perception of Life: Concerns the perception and significance an individual attributes to the sacred aspects of life and everyday life.

Scoring

The scoring of the DS Scale is done using Likert scales, where participants rate each statement on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). These responses are collected and analyzed to generate overall scores for each dimension of dedication to the divine. Higher scores indicate greater dedication and commitment.

Bibliography

Pargament, K. I. (1997). The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice. Guilford Press.
Hill, P. C., & Pargament, K. I. (2003). Advances in the Conceptualization and Measurement of Religion and Spirituality: Implications for Physical and Mental Health Research. American Psychologist, 58(1), 64-74.
Worthington, E. L. Jr., Wade, N. G., Hight, T. L., Ripley, J. S., McCullough, M. E., Berry, J. W., … & Schmitt, M. M. (2003). The Religious Commitment Inventory–10: Development, refinement, and validation of a brief scale for research and counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50(1), 84-96.
Underwood, L. G., & Teresi, J. A. (2002). The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale: Development, theoretical description, reliability, exploratory factor analysis, and preliminary construct validity using health-related data. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 24(1), 22-33.