Cognitive spirituality and hope in Catholic high school students.

Cognitive spirituality and hope in Catholic high school students. This study explores the validity of a construct of cognitivespirituality as measured by a recent measure, the Spirituality Index ofWell-Being, in a sample of Catholic high school students. Spiritualityon this scale is conceptualized as a composite of life scheme (havingmeaning in one's life) and generalized self-efficacy.Construct-based validity evidence was produced through factor analysisand examination of correlations between the spirituality scale andsubscale scores with scale and subscale scores on the Children'sHope Scale, a well-being indicator previously used for this population.In addition, differences between male and female students were found,with females producing higher scores on the life scheme subscale,suggesting a greater sense of meaning in their lives. The SpiritualityIndex of Well-Being also demonstrated high internal reliability in thissample. It is argued that the goal of Catholic education is education ofthe whole person and that this conceptualization con��cep��tu��al��ize?v. con��cep��tu��al��ized, con��cep��tu��al��iz��ing, con��cep��tu��al��iz��esv.tr.To form a concept or concepts of, and especially to interpret in a conceptual way: of spirituality isconsistent with that goal. The Spirituality Index of Well-Being appearsto be a valid and reliable measure of cognitive spirituality for thispopulation and a useful indicator of student well-being. "What greater work is there than disciplining the mind andforming the habits of the young?" (Pius XI Pius XI,1857–1939, pope (1922–39), an Italian named Achille Ratti, b. Desio, near Milan; successor of Benedict XV.Prepapal CareerRatti's father was a silk manufacturer. He studied in Milan and at the Gregorian Univ. , 1936, p. 5) ********** Catholic education is committed to the education of the wholeperson. John Paul II John Paul II,1920–2005, pope (1978–2005), a Pole (b. Wadowice) named Karol Józef Wojtyła; successor of John Paul I. He was the first non-Italian pope elected since the Dutch Adrian VI (1522–23) and the first Polish and Slavic pope. (1998) has written that "school cannot belimited to offering young people ideas in the various branches ofknowledge; it must also help them look in the right direction for themeaning of life" (p. 1) and "school must help young peoplelearn how to understand these values, by fostering harmoniousdevelopment of every dimension of their personality from the physicaland spiritual to the cultural and relational" (p. 1). Moredirectly, he describes the purpose of the Catholic school as "theadvancement of the human person" (John Paul II, 1991, p. 2). Groome (1999) argues that the purpose of Catholic education is theintegration of a student's mind, body, and character. He identifiesthe understanding of a link between knowledge of the material world andknowledge of how to live one's life as wisdom and suggests thatpioneering Catholic educators of the past (e.g., St. Augustine, St Augustine, St. (354–430) patron saint of scholars; voluminous theological author. [Christian Hagiog.: Brewster, 384–385]See : Wisdom .Thomas Aquinas) consistently argued for a commitment to "characterformation--to nurturing the values and virtues that enables people tolive more humanly hu��man��ly?adv.1. In a human way.2. Within the scope of human means, capabilities, or powers: not humanly possible.3. themselves and to contribute to the common good ofsociety, to live with respect and responsibility for self andothers" (p. 25). The goal of producing a whole person places a hefty mandate onCatholic educators. What does a whole person look like? How does a wholeperson think? How can this objective be measured? At a minimum, wholepersons should have an understanding of themselves and their place inthe world. Rodimer (2001) believes that Catholic students are taughtthese skills of understanding and should see themselves and others asdistinct individuals with unique strengths. Catholic schools work withthe family to give students the "moral thoughtful leaders who willmake the world a better place for themselves, their families, and theircommunities" (p. 22). The type of understanding which is found necessary for a wholeperson--knowledge of self and a sense of meaning in one's life--isconsistent with a model of spirituality, that has been offered byDaaleman and colleagues (Daaleman, Cobb, & Frey, 2001). Under thismodel, spirituality is defined as the sum of two components:self-efficacy and life scheme. It is cognitive in nature and distinctfrom religiosity re��li��gi��os��i��ty?n.1. The quality of being religious.2. Excessive or affected piety.Noun 1. religiosity - exaggerated or affected piety and religious zealreligiousism, pietism, religionism . Though this perspective of spirituality is consistentwith Catholic education's delineation of the characteristics of awhole person, the scale had not been validated for a school agepopulation and data had never been gathered on Catholic high schoolstudents. Another important dimension of a healthy personality, hope,was recently measured in this population (McDermott, Pedrotti, Edwards,& Houske, 2002). Hope is a well-researched attribute consistentlyfound to be associated with a variety of well-being and school successindicators (Snyder et al., 1991). McDermott and colleagues found thathope was higher in the Catholic high school population than for studentsfrom the general population. One would expect a relationship betweencognitive spirituality and hope, as the two variables are indicators ofwell-being. Additionally, both constructs make use of an efficacy-typecomponent which provides a specific theoretical overlap. The presentstudy measured levels of spirituality in 577 high school studentsattending Catholic schools in the Midwest, explored the validity of theSpirituality Index of Well-Being for this population, and investigatedthe relationship between spirituality and hope. SPIRITUALITY Over the last decade, there has been an increase in theoreticaldiscussions and research concerning the role of spirituality inwell-being and quality-of-life (Koenig, 2000; Larson, Swyers, &McCullough, 1998; Mitka, 1998; Ory & Lipman, 1998). Models forexploring and understanding the relationship between spirituality andwell-being have come from the fields of medicine (Larson et al., 1998;Levin, 1994), social work (Canda & Furman, 1999), and psychology(Pargament & Mahoney, 2002). In the medical community, spirituality has been identified as a keyindicator of patients' needs, attitudes, and the treatment choicesthey make. Patient care is affected by attitudes and behaviors driven byreligious and spiritual beliefs (Ganzini, Johnston, McFarland, Tolle,& Lee, 1998; Meier et al., 1998). Spiritual beliefs affect healthbeliefs (Furnham, 1994) and some clinical studies have identifiedpotential links between spirituality and success of medical treatment(King, Speck, & Thomas, 1994). Among social work researchers, the argument has been made thatbecause religious and spiritual experiences and beliefs are so prevalentin people's lives, it is crucial that they be considered inunderstanding clients. Canda and Furman (1999), in an exhaustive reviewof spirituality in social work, support this position, and present anoperational model which assumes that humans have an underlying drivetoward attaining the qualities of spirituality. To be accepted as avalid research variable, they argue, spirituality must be viewed ascapable of manifesting itself in a variety of ways that includereligious expressions, spiritual development and experiences, and theunderlying drive to be spiritual. They list common questions that framethe spiritual journey: It is human nature to try to make sense of self and world. Who am I? Why do I exist? What is my purpose? ... How do I fit in the world? These are questions of meaning that everyone struggles with in various ways.... We also need a sense of integration and wholeness within ourselves and in relation to the world.... What is my place in the scheme of things? (pp. 49-51) In psychology, the characteristics of spirituality are studiedwithin a family of healthy variables which make up a web of theoreticalrelationships and provide context for an approach known as positivepsychology which studies positive subjective experience (Seligman, 2002;Snyder & Lopez, 2002). Pargament and Mahoney (2002) argue thatresearchers should attend to spirituality, among other reasons, becauseof associations between level of spirituality and mental health (Koenig,1998), drug and alcohol use (Benson, 1992), reactions to stressful lifeexperiences (Pargament, 1997), illness, and even death (Ellison &Levin, 1998). In the context of positive psychology, spirituality isviewed as providing a framework for coping, adjustment, growth, andreaching one's human potential. Recent work on the spirituality variable has focused on the varieddefinitions of spirituality (Koenig, McCullough, & Larson, 2001).Major limitations for researchers have been the absence of operationaldefinitions, treating measures of religion and measures of spiritualityas interchangeable, and a lack of valid and reliable measures (Daaleman,Frey, Wallace, & Studenski, 2002a; Sloan, Bagiella, & Powell,1999). Canda and Furman (1999) report that, outside of religiousstudies, the term spirituality has not typically been used by scholars,but when the term is used and defined, three different strategies havebeen used. One approach is to define spirituality only insituation-specific ways; spirituality is different things, to differentpeople, at different times. A second approach is to use general conceptsand theories and assume they are meaningful across cultures and times. Athird approach is to acknowledge the diversity of conceptualizations ofspirituality that exist, while also seeking to identify a common set ofcomponents. Another framework by which one can categorize cat��e��go��rize?tr.v. cat��e��go��rized, cat��e��go��riz��ing, cat��e��go��riz��esTo put into a category or categories; classify.cat the multitude ofdefinitions is the extent to which spirituality is defined as areligion-based construct. People can characterize themselves asreligious and spiritual, approaching the constructs as independent,though perhaps related, qualities of what it is to be human (Zinnbaueret al., 1997). There are theological definitions of spirituality, whichcenter on belief in a divine being, as well as sociological,philosophical, and psychological definitions (Cox, 1996). Canda andFurman (1999) use the term "nonreligious spiritual propensity"for a spiritual person who does not use religion as a foundationalbelief system, and believes that all features of spiritual propensitycan take on nonreligious forms. When spirituality's relationshipwith well-being is considered, and when theories are presented whichpostulate postulate:see axiom. that the relationship is causal, moderating, or mediating, itis a psychological definition which is typically most useful. Whether a researcher has adopted a religious or nonreligious viewof spirituality, certain definitional characteristics are common acrossthe scholarly fields. Common are definitions which describe spiritualityas an aspect of humans that seeks meaning and purpose (Canda &Furman, 1999; Doyle, 1992), connections with something greater thanone's self (Cox, 1996), transcendence (Mauritzen, 1988) and asearch for the sacred, those things extraordinary and worthy of respect(Pargament & Mahoney, 2002). Spirituality is a construct whichrepresents a sense of meaning, purpose, and power (Wulff, 1997). COGNITIVE SPIRITUALITY Daaleman, Cobb, and Frey (2001) have presented a view of what theynamed health-related spirituality arising from a context ofquality-of-life. It differs from typical lay or previous researchdefinitions of spirituality in three important ways: 1. It is person-centered. Qualitative methods were used to definethe term spirituality and its relationship to well-being from theperspective of patients in a family medicine clinic, not the viewpointof researchers (Frey & Daaleman, 1999). 2. It provides a conception of spirituality which is distinct fromreligiosity. Most previous spiritual well-being spiritual well-being,n a sense of peace and contentment stemming from an individual's relationship with the spiritual aspects of life. models explicitly orimplicitly subsume sub��sume?tr.v. sub��sumed, sub��sum��ing, sub��sumesTo classify, include, or incorporate in a more comprehensive category or under a general principle: beliefs in God and religious attitudes as part ofspirituality (Sloan et al., 1999). 3. It describes spirituality as a cognitive construct. The twocomponents of this view of spirituality are a coherent, pervasive lifescheme through which one sees the world and one's place in it, anda generalized self-efficacy. By this definition, highly spiritual peoplesee life as understandable and manageable and believe in their abilityto plan and execute the necessary steps to achieve goals. Thecharacterization of these components are consistent withAntonovsky's (1987) view of the potential for a coherent lifescheme to act as a framework for maintaining well-being andBandura's (1997) view of the positive nature of self-efficacy. Daaleman and colleagues (2001) have presented a conceptual pathwaysmodel of how spirituality might operate as a link between changes inhealth status and subjective well-being. Their model was specific to thehealth context from which it arose, but it can be generalized to abroader representation of how spirituality shapes well-being as areaction to all life experience. Figure 1 presents this broaderconceptualization. The framework suggests that life experiences,especially social and psychological disruptions, activate a process ofcomprehension and information gathering influenced by core beliefs aboutthe self and the world. Preliminary interpretations of these events areframed, shaped, and ultimately understood within one's life schemeand feelings of self-efficacy, cognitive spirituality. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] The Spirituality Index of Well-Being was designed for well-beingresearch to measure this new construct, and the scale has producedvalidity and reliability evidence in adult populations. Among oldermembers of a health care system, spirituality was found to be positivelyrelated to well-being indicators such as quality-of-life and physicalfunctioning and negatively related to geriatric geriatric/ger��i��at��ric/ (jer?e-at��rik)1. pertaining to elderly persons or to the aging process.2. pertaining to geriatrics.ger��i��at��ricadj.1. depression (Daaleman etal., 2002a). There was no relationship with religiosity, a crucialvalidity indicator that the construct was independent from the strengthof one's religious beliefs. In a secondary analysis on the samedata, spirituality was found to be a significant explanatory factor ofself-reported health in this age group, even after controlling forphysical functioning, depression, age, and race (Daaleman, Perera, &Studenski, 2004) which suggests that spirituality plays a role inone's perceptions of health, regardless of actual level of physicalfunctioning. HOPE As presented by Snyder and colleagues (1991), hope is abidimensional construct consisting of pathways and agency. The pathwayscomponent is defined as possessing the ability to generate variousroutes toward a specified goal. At times these pathways may be blockedby various obstacles, but hopeful individuals are able to create newpathways in these circumstances. Agency is the energy, or motivation,that enables an individual to sustain continued progress along thevarious pathways toward one's goal. By definition, these twofactors must both be present in an individual in order for thatindividual to possess hope (Snyder et al., 1991). Hope has been associated with many other positive attributes. Highhope individuals have been found to possess greater psychologicaladjustment, better problem-solving skills, higher academic achievement,higher athletic achievement, and better health (Snyder, Sympson,Michael, & Cheavens, 2001). Hope has also been positively associatedwith optimism, self-esteem, and self-efficacy, better coping skills, andnegatively associated with depression (Magaletta & Oliver, 1999;Snyder et al., 1991). These connections have been found across age,race, culture, and gender with no significant differences in levels ofhope within these categories (Snyder, 1994; Snyder et al., 1991). Hope was chosen as an investigative correlate of spirituality forfour reasons. First, both hope and health-related spirituality arepresented as constructs which tap into the more generalized notion ofwell-being and both are defined as positive attributes. Second, thepositive intentionality intentionalityProperty of being directed toward an object. Intentionality is exhibited in various mental phenomena. Thus, if a person experiences an emotion toward an object, he has an intentional attitude toward it. component of spirituality is seen as arepresentation of Bandura's (1997) self-efficacy (Daaleman et al.,2001) and hope and self-efficacy have been described as similarconstructs throughout the literature. Both attributes rely on anexpectancy-based core, both are oriented toward the future, and both areconsidered powerful cognitive sets that deal with outcomes and goals.Some researchers have posited that the agency component of hope theorymay equate to the basic tenet TENET. Which he holds. There are two ways of stating the tenure in an action of waste. The averment is either in the tenet and the tenuit; it has a reference to the time of the waste done, and not to the time of bringing the action. 2. of self-efficacy, but maintain that hopetheory takes one more step by including outcomes as well as expectancies(Magaletta & Oliver, 1999). Third, hope has been associated withcoping skills and other systems whereby people deal with life and frametheir understanding of the world. This characteristic should be closelyaligned to the "meaning of life" or life scheme component ofcognitive spirituality. Finally, it is hypothesized that spiritualitywill be measured at high levels in Catholic high school students, ahypothesis already supported for hope in this population. A similarpattern of results should be seen with the two constructs. METHODS PARTICIPANTS Five hundred and seventy-seven students between the ages of 14 and18 participated in this study. Of those, 304 were female and 273 weremale. The majority, 385, were Caucasian, 108 were Hispanic, 30 AfricanAmerican African AmericanMulticulture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.See Race. , 8 Asian, 1 Native American, and 38 marked multi or biracial bi��ra��cial?adj.1. Of, for, or consisting of members of two races.2. Having parents of two different races.bi��ra . PROCEDURE Two Catholic high schools agreed to participate in this study. Theinstruments were administered by the instructor of the students'first hour homeroom home��room?n.A school classroom to which a group of pupils of the same grade are required to report each day.Noun 1. homeroom class. Written instructions for the administrationwere provided to ensure standardization of administration across allclassrooms. INSTRUMENTS The Spirituality Index of Well-Being (SIWB; Daaleman et al., 2002a)is a 12-item scale designed to be useful in health and well-beingresearch. Following the cognitive spirituality model, responses aresummed to create two subscale scores, life scheme and self-efficacy, andsubscale scores can be combined to create a single score representingspirituality. Responses are in a 5-point Likert format; scores can rangefrom 12 to 60 for the total score and 6 to 30 for each subscale score.For a sample of individuals aged 65 and above, Daaleman and colleaguesreported internal reliability estimates of .87 for the total scale, .83for the self-efficacy subscale and .80 for the life scheme subscaleindicating moderate to high reliability. Beyond its theoretical ties tothe health-related spirituality model, construct evidence of validitywas provided by a factor analysis with a clean, easily interpretedtwo-factor solution. Convergent validity Convergent validity is the degree to which an operation is similar to (converges on) other operations that it theoretically should also be similar to. For instance, to show the convergent validity of a test of mathematics skills, the scores on the test can be correlated with scores was supported through a patternof correlations in expected directions with a variety of traditionalquality-of-life measures. Discriminant validity Discriminant validity describes the degree to which the operationalization is not similar to (diverges from) other operationalizations that it theoretically should not be similar to. evidence includes thelack of a significant correlation with a religiosity scale and a muchstronger set of correlations between measures of quality-of-life andscores on the SIWB than between these measures and religiosity. The Children's Hope Scale (CHS (Cylinder Head Sector) An earlier method of addressing a hard disk by referencing all three physical elements of the drive. It was superseded by logical block addressing (see LBA). ; Snyder et al., 1997) is asix-item measure designed for children aged 7 to 16. Based on the twofactor model of hope, the CHS is a dispositional measure of hope thatcan be completed and scored in about 3 minutes. Three of the six itemson the hope scale measure agency, while the other three measure pathwaysthinking. Scores can range from 6 to 30 for the total scale and 3 to 15for each subscale. Snyder and colleagues found estimates of internalreliability for the Children's Hope Scale ranging from .72 to .86,with a median alpha of .77 and a 1 month test-retest correlation of .71.Across ages, the mean total score was 25, and the mean score for eachsubscale was 12.5. Snyder et al. (1997) provide convergent validityevidence in the form of correlations between CHS scores andparents' ratings of hope, competence/control-related perceptions,and self-worth, and CHS scores have been found to correlate about .50with achievement test scores. Some discriminant validity evidence isprovided by a statistically zero relationship with intelligence testscores among boys diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivitydisorder attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), formerly called hyperkinesis or minimal brain dysfunction, a chronic, neurologically based syndrome characterized by any or all of three types of behavior: hyperactivity, distractibility, and impulsivity. . DATA ANALYSIS Total scores, subscale scores, and descriptive statistics descriptive statisticssee statistics. for theSpirituality Index of Well-Being and the Children's Hope Scale werecomputed for 577 students. Responses on the SIWB were reversed beforesumming so that high scores would indicate high spirituality. Internalreliability estimates for this sample and correlations between fullscale and subscale scores on the SIWB and the CHS were calculated.Because the scale had never been administered to children before thisstudy, a factor analysis was performed on the SIWB and it was comparedto the previous factor analysis for older adults reported in Daaleman etal. (2002a). Gender differences for the SIWB and its subscales weretested using a t test of independent means. RESULTS Table 1 provides descriptive statistics, scale and subscalereliability estimates, and correlations between scale and subscalescores. Spirituality Index of Well-Being norms for this age group havenot been established, but the means found in this study aresignificantly higher than those found by Daaleman, Frey, Wallace, andStudenski (2002b) in their elderly sample (Spirituality, M = 44.20, SD =6.55, Life Scheme, M = 21.54, SD = 3.77, Self-Efficacy, M = 22.67, SD =3.59.) Coefficient alpha levels for the SIWB total scale and the twosubscales indicate very good to excellent internal reliability in thissample. The coefficient alpha of .81 for the CHS total scale in oursample indicated good internal reliability, with lower, but acceptableestimates for the subscales. Performance on the Children's HopeScale for this Catholic school sample was higher than published normsfor the scale (Snyder et al., 1997) and the levels of hope in thissample and a discussion of the unique role hope might play in faithbased educational communities have been presented elsewhere (McDermottet al., 2002). VALIDITY OF THE SPIRITUALITY INDEX OF WELL-BEING Correlations between scores on the total scales and among allsubscales were statistically significant and in the same range, with thehighest correlation found between the two full scales, r(575) =.40, p< .001. All relationships were in the expected direction. A maximum likelihood factor analysis of responses to the 12 SIWBitems with varimax rotation produced two factors accounting for asubstantial portion of the variance in responses (53.52%). Afterrotation, the eigenvalue eigenvalueIn mathematical analysis, one of a set of discrete values of a parameter, k, in an equation of the form Lx = kx. Such characteristic equations are particularly useful in solving differential equations, integral equations, and systems of for the self-efficacy factor was 3.66,accounting for 30.47% of the total variance. The eigenvalue for the lifescheme factor was 2.77, accounting for 23.05% of the total variance.Both the pattern of item loadings from our sample of high school agedchildren and the loadings reported in the Daaleman et al. (2002a) studyof an elderly population are presented in Table 2. Items operatedsimilarly in the high school sample and the older sample, with itemsgenerally loading as expected for the two factor model. The primaryexception was "I don't know who I am, where I came from, orwhere I am going" which on its face is a life scheme item, butcross loaded with self-efficacy, actually loading most strongly on thatfactor. One other item "I have a lack of purpose in my life"loaded above .5 on both factors, which was not found with the Daalemanet al. (2002a) sample. Independent t-tests compared males and females on SIWB totalscores, life scheme subscale scores, and self-efficacy subscale scores.Females (M = 23.72, SD = 4.77) scored significantly higher on the lifescheme subscale, t (575) = 2.17, p = .030, than did males (M = 22.81, SD= 5.34), with a small effect size, d = .18. DISCUSSION This study investigated levels of cognitive spirituality amongCatholic high school students and also explored the relationship betweencognitive spirituality and hope. As hope has been associated with avariety of positive constructs and outcomes (Snyder et al., 1991), itwas expected that there would be a significant relationship betweenspirituality scores and hope scores. Results indicated that there weresignificant correlations between these measures, as well as significantcorrelations between each component of hope (agency and pathways) witheach component of spirituality (life schema and self-efficacy).Additionally, a gender difference was found in the spiritualitycomponent of life scheme, with females scoring higher than males,indicating that they had a more coherent meaning-of-life framework. The total correlation The total correlation (Watanabe 1960) is one of several generalizations of the mutual information. It is also known as the multivariate constraint (Garner 1962) or multiinformation (Studeny & Vejnarov�� 1999). between spirituality scores and hope scoreswas .40, which indicates the expected moderate positive relationship.Though the correlations between the subscales with each other and withthe full scale scores are slightly lower than .40, they are notstatistically lower, and it is reasonable to treat the lowerrelationship estimates as due to lower internal reliabilities within thesubscale. Correcting for attenuation Loss of signal power in a transmission. AttenuationThe reduction in level of a transmitted quantity as a function of a parameter, usually distance. It is applied mainly to acoustic or electromagnetic waves and is expressed as the ratio of power densities. due to less than perfect internalreliabilities on the scales and subscales suggests theoreticalrelationships between the constructs (estimates of relationships whichexist among the constructs represented by the scores, not the scoresthemselves) as follows: Spirituality and Hope [approximately equal to].47, Self-Efficacy and Hope [approximately equal to] .46, Life Schemeand Hope [approximately equal to] .43, Agency and Spirituality[approximately equal to] .45, Pathways and Spirituality [approximatelyequal to] .44. It is not surprising that the self-efficacy component ofspiritual well-being correlated relatively highly with hope scores, asself-efficacy and hope have been linked in other studies withcorrelations as high as .59 (Magaletta & Oliver, 1999). Hope andself-efficacy have been defined as separate, though overlapping,indicators of overall well-being. In the study by Magaletta and Oliver,the pathways subcomponent sub��com��po��nent?n.A portion of a component, especially an electronic component; a subassembly. of hope, the agency subcomponent of hope,optimism, and self-efficacy were delineated de��lin��e��ate?tr.v. de��lin��e��at��ed, de��lin��e��at��ing, de��lin��e��ates1. To draw or trace the outline of; sketch out.2. To represent pictorially; depict.3. as four unique contributorsof variance to well-being. This study's finding of a moderatecorrelation supports the hypothesis that while hope and self-efficacyare associated, they are independent entities and are distinct aspectsof well-being. The life scheme component of spirituality generates a similarpattern of relationships in this study as that found with self-efficacy,which suggests that conclusions reached about the"independent-of-but-associated-with-hope" nature ofself-efficacy, might apply to life scheme, as well. Additionally, thefactor analysis data presented here, and found in the Daaleman andcolleagues (2002a) study of an elderly population, supports the notionof self-efficacy and life scheme as distinct components. The gender difference on the spirituality scale, with femalesshowing higher levels of life scheme, can also be found in the Daalemanet al. (2002b) data in their aged 65 years and older sample: Females, M= 22.20, SD = 3.52, Males, M = 20.91, SD = 3.90. In their sample, theeffect size is slightly larger, t (272) = 2.88, p = .004, d = .25. It is important to recognize the unique characteristics of thesample used in this study. Hope scores were higher in these Catholicstudents than the general population, and this sample is predominantlyCaucasian and of lower socioeconomic status, so generalizations to otherhigh school students of diverse ethnicities or different levels ofsocio-economic status may not be appropriate. Future studies in theschools should focus on both the psychometric psy��cho��met��rics?n. (used with a sing. verb)The branch of psychology that deals with the design, administration, and interpretation of quantitative tests for the measurement of psychological variables such as intelligence, aptitude, and characteristics of theSpirituality Index of Well-Being and the pattern of construct validity construct validity,n the degree to which an experimentally-determined definition matches the theoretical definition. evidence of cognitive spirituality construct across populations. Results of this study suggest a web of relationships amongself-efficacy, meaning in life, willpower, and pathways thinking, and ameaningful link between the broader constructs of cognitive spiritualityand hope. The study also provides validity evidence for the use of theSpirituality Index of Well-Being with this age group. While publicschool researchers may wish to measure spirituality among schoolchildren, the frequently religious basis to the concept, and scales usedto measure it, often makes such research unfeasible because ofseparation-of-church-and-state concerns and other anxiety causingaspects to such research. The Spirituality Index of Well-Being providesa valid and theoretically sound alternative for educational researchers. Pulitzer-prize winner Robert Coles This article or section needs sourcesorreferences that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. (1990; 1999) has explored boththe thoughts of children and the workings of the spiritual mind. Acrosscultures and religious denominations, he has reported that childrenreveal not only the constant struggle to understand God, but a broaderinner drive to understand one's value and place. He seesspirituality as secular at its core, but powerful enough as a constructto contain the entirety of the common quest to know one's self,this world, and one's place in it. The conception of spiritualityused in this study views the construct as an understanding of one'spurpose and faith in one's abilities. This is consistent withColes' spiritual child, Groome's (1999) wise child, Snyder andcolleagues' (1991) hopeful child, and Catholic education'swhole child. This depiction of spirituality as a cognitive process is consistentwith both the "sense of meaning, purpose, and power" approachto defining spirituality and the "educating the whole person"mandate of Catholic education. The level of cognitive spirituality, thegender difference with females reporting a more coherent sense of themeaning of life, and the relationships between aspects of cognitivespirituality and aspects of hope should have particular relevance forCatholic school personnel and researchers, and others interested inparochial education parochial educationEducation offered institutionally by a religious group. The curriculum usually includes both religious and general studies. In the U.S. and Canada, parochial education has referred primarily to elementary and secondary schools maintained by Roman Catholic research, as both traits are consistent with apositive values approach to education. As McDermott and colleaguesdiscuss more fully (2002), hope was found to be significantly higher forCatholic school students than has been found for students who attendpublic schools. The values of cognitive spirituality and hope arecertainly consistent with the goals of Catholic education. 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Psychology, 22,399-421. Snyder, C. R., & Lopez, S. J. (Eds.). (2002). Handbook ofpositive psychology. New York: Oxford University. Snyder, C. R., Sympson, S. C., Michael, S. T., & Cheavens, J.(2001). The optimism and hope constructs: Variants on a positiveexpectancy theme. In E. C. Chang (Ed.), Optimism and pessimism pessimism,philosophical opinion or doctrine that evil predominates over good; the opposite of optimism. Systematic forms of pessimism may be found in philosophy and religion. (pp.101-126). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Wulff, D. (1997). Psychology of religion: Classic and contemporary(2nd ed.). New York: Wiley. Zinnbauer, B. J., Pargament, K. I., Cole, B., Rye, M. S., Butter,E. M., Belavich, T. G., et al. (1997). Religion and spirituality:Unfuzzying the fuzzy. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 36,549-564. BRUCE B. FREY University of Kansas The University of Kansas (often referred to as KU or just Kansas) is an institution of higher learning in Lawrence, Kansas. The main campus resides atop Mount Oread. JENNIFER TERAMOTO PEDROTTI California Polytechnic Institute LISA The first personal computer to include integrated software and use a graphical interface. Modeled after the Xerox Star and introduced in 1983 by Apple, it was ahead of its time, but never caught on due to its $10,000 price and slow speed. M. EDWARDS University of Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam]is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame DIANE MCDERMOTT University of Kansas Bruce B. Frey is an assistant professor in the Department ofPsychology and Research in Education at the University of Kansas.Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti is an assistant professor of Psychology andChild Development at California Polytechnic State University This article is about the university in San Luis Obispo, California. For Cal Poly Pomona, see California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. California Polytechnic State University, commonly called Cal Poly , San LuisObispo San Luis Obispo(săn l`ĭs ōbĭs`pō), city (1990 pop. 41,958), seat of San Luis Obispo co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; inc. 1856. . Lisa M. Edwards is a research associate in the Department ofPsychology at the University of Notre Dame, and Diane McDermott is anassociate professor in the Department of Psychology and Research inEducation at the University of Kansas. Correspondence concerning thisarticle should be addressed to Bruce B. Frey, Ph.D., Department ofPsychology and Research in Education, University of Kansas, JR PearsonHall, 1122 West Campus Road, Room 643, Lawrence, KS 66045.Table 1. Descriptives, Internal Reliability, and Correlationsbetween Spirituality and Hope Agency Hope Subscale [alpha] = .81 [alpha] = .70 M = 26.17 M = 13.41 SD = 4.60 SD = 2.54Spirituality Index of Well-Being .40 .36[alpha] = .91, M = 47.81, SD = 8.88Life Schema Subscale .36 .32[alpha] = .86, M = 23.29, SD = 5.07Self-Efficacy Subscale .38 .34[alpha] = .84, M = 24.52, SD = 4.60 Pathways Subscale [alpha] = .74 M = 12.76 SD = 2.57Spirituality Index of Well-Being .36[alpha] = .91, M = 47.81, SD = 8.88Life Schema Subscale .32[alpha] = .86, M = 23.29, SD = 5.07Self-Efficacy Subscale .34[alpha] = .84, M = 24.52, SD = 4.60Note: N = 577; All correlations are significant, p < .001.Table 2. Factor Loadings for Spirituality Index of Well-Being Self-Efficacy Factor Age AgeItem 14-19 65-901. There is not much I can do to help .79 .57myself.2. Often, there is no way I can .66 .68complete what I have started.3. I can't begin to understand my .66 .62problems4. I am overwhelmed when I have .48 .56personal difficulties and problems.5. I don't know how to begin to solve .54 .72my problems.6. There is not much I can do to make a .76 .61difference in my life.7. I haven't yet found my life's purpose. .21 .198. I don't know who I am, where I came .58 .23from, or where I am going.9. I have a lack of purpose in my life. .53 .2910. In this world, I don't know where I .42 .44fit in.11. I am far from understanding the .15 .17meaning of life.12. There is a great void in my life at .46 .33this time. Life Scheme Factor Age AgeItem 14-19 65-901. There is not much I can do to help .21 .25myself.2. Often, there is no way I can .25 .25complete what I have started.3. I can't begin to understand my .34 .24problems4. I am overwhelmed when I have .36 .32personal difficulties and problems.5. I don't know how to begin to solve .24 .22my problems.6. There is not much I can do to make a .22 .27difference in my life.7. I haven't yet found my life's purpose. .66 .648. I don't know who I am, where I came .48 .50from, or where I am going.9. I have a lack of purpose in my life. .54 .5710. In this world, I don't know where I .72 .54fit in.11. I am far from understanding the .71 .60meaning of life.12. There is a great void in my life at .58 .56this time.Note. Loadings for Age 65-90 from Daaleman et al. (2002a).