The psychometric properties of the Life Perspectives Inventory (LPI-English language version), a new instrument designed to assess characteristics associated with nonreligious spirituality in high school–age adolescents, were examined in two phases. Phase 1 demonstrated the survey’s factorial validity and internal consistency and the test–retest reliability of four derived dimensions (Optimistic Outlook, Purpose and Meaning in Life, Connection with the Divine, and Active Spirituality) with a large sample (N = 531) of Washington state high school students. In Phase 2, the LPI’s dimensionality was cross-validated using confirmatory factor analysis with more than 400 Michigan high school students. Alpha and stability coefficients computed with the Michigan sample provided further evidence for the LPI-E’s reliability. Implications for school counseling practice are included.
American School Counselor Association. (2012). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author.
2.
BalsanoA. B.PhelpsE.TheokasC.LernerJ. V.LernerR. M. (2009). Patterns of early adolescents’ participation in youth development programs having positive youth development goals. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 19, 249–259.doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2009.00595.x
3.
BattistichV. (2010). School contexts that promote students’ positive development. In MeeceJ. L.EcclesJ. S. (Eds.), Handbook of research on schools, schooling, and human development (pp. 111–127). New York, NY: Routledge.
4.
BensonP. L.RoehlkepartainE. C.RudeS. P.(2003). Spiritual development in childhood and adolescence: Toward a field of inquiry. Applied Developmental Science, 7, 205–213.
5.
BensonP. L.ScalesP. C.SyvertsenA. C.RoehlkepartainE. C. (2012). Is youth spiritual development a universal developmental process? An international exploration. Journal of Positive Psychology, 7, 453–470. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2012.732102#preview.
6.
BoyntonH. M. (2011). Children’s spirituality: Epistemology and theory from various helping professions. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 16, 109–127. doi:10.1080/1364436X.2011.580727
7.
BrassaiL.PikoB. F.StegerM. F. (2011). Meaning in life: Is it a protective factor for adolescents’ psychological health?International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 18, 44–51. doi:10.1007/s12529-010-9089-6
8.
BriggsM.AkosP.CzyszczonG.EldridgeA. (2011). Assessing and promoting spiritual wellness as a protective factor in secondary schools. Counseling and Values, 55, 171–184.
9.
BronfenbrennerU. (2005). Making human beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
10.
Butler-BarnesS.WilliamsT. T.ChavousT. M. (2012). Racial pride and religiosity among African American boys: Implications for academic motivation and achievement. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 486–498.
11.
ByrneB. (2010). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
12.
CarlozziB.WinterowdC.HarristR. S.ThomasonN.BratkovichK.WorthS. (2010). Spirituality, anger, and stress in early adolescents. Journal of Religion & Health, 49, 445–459. doi:10.1007/s10943-009-9295-1
13.
ChaiklinS. (2003). The zone of proximal development in Vygotsky’s analysis of learning and instruction. In KozulinA.GindisB.AgeyevV. S.MillerS. M. (Eds.), Vygotsky’s educational theory in cultural context (pp. 39–64). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
14.
CourtD. (2010). What happens to children’s faith in the zone of proximal development and what can religious educators do about it?Religious Education, 105, 491–503.
15.
DanielsH.ColeM.WertschJ. V. (Eds.). (2007). The Cambridge companion to Vygotsky. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
16.
DeHaanL. G.YonkerJ. E.AffholterC. (2011). More than enjoying the sunset: Conceptualization and measurement of religiosity for adolescents and emerging adults and its implications for developmental inquiry. Journal of Psychology & Christianity, 30, 184–195.
17.
De SouzaM. (2006). Educating for hope, compassion and meaning in a divisive and intolerant world. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 11, 165–175.
18.
DimitrovD. M. (2012). Statistical methods for validation of assessment scale data in counseling and related fields. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
19.
DobmeierR. A. (2011). School counselors support student spirituality through developmental assets, character education, and ASCA competency indicators. Professional School Counseling, 14, 317–327.
20.
EaudeT. (2009). Happiness, emotional well-being and mental health—What has children’s spirituality to offer?International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 14, 185–196. doi:10.1080/13644360903086455
21.
EcclesJ. S.MidgleyC.WigfieldA.BuchananC. M.ReumanD.FlanaganC. (1993). Development during adolescence: The impact of stage-environment fit on young adolescents’ experiences in school and families. American Psychologist, 48, 90–101.
22.
EcclesJ. S.RoeserR. W. (2010). An ecological view of schools and development. In MeeceJ. L.EcclesJ. S. (Eds.), Handbook of research on schools, schooling, and human development (pp. 6–21). New York, NY: Routledge.
23.
EndersC. K. (2010). Applied missing data analysis. New York, NY: Guilford.
24.
EriksonE. H.EriksonJ. M. (1997). The life cycle completed (extended version). New York, NY: Norton.
25.
EstepJ. R. (2002). Spiritual formation as social: Toward a Vygotskyan developmental perspective. Religious Education, 97, 141–164.
26.
FabrigarL. R.WegenerD. T. (2012). Exploratory factor analysis. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
27.
FredricksonB. (2007). The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. In HuppertF. A.BaylisN.KeveneB. (Eds.), The science of well-being (pp. 217–240). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
28.
GalassiJ. P.AkosP. (2007). Strengths-based school counseling: Promoting student development and achievement. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
29.
GerbingD. W.HamiltonJ. G. (2009). Viability of exploratory factor analysis as a precursor to confirmatory factor analysis. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 3, 62–72.
30.
HairJ.BlackW.BabinB.AndersonR. (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
31.
HalfordJ. M. (1999). Longing for the sacred in schools: A conversation with Nel Noddings. Educational Leadership, 56, 28–32.
32.
HallC. R.DixonW. A.MauzeyE. D. (2004). Spirituality and religion: Implications for Counselors. Journal of Counseling & Development, 82, 504–507.
33.
HuebnerE. S.SuldoS. M.SmithL. C.McKnightC. G. (2004). Life satisfaction in children and youth: Empirical foundations and implications for school psychologists. Psychology in the Schools, 41, 81–93.
34.
IngersollR. E. (1998). Refining dimensions of spiritual wellness: A cross-traditional approach. Counseling and Values, 42, 156–165.
35.
KangP. P.RomoL. F. (2011). The role of religious involvement on depression, risky behavior, and academic performance among Korean American adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 34, 767–778. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.08.003
36.
KiangL.FuligniA. J. (2010). Meaning in life as a mediator of ethnic identity and adjustment among adolescents from Latin, Asian, and European American backgrounds. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 1253–1264.
37.
KlineP. (1993). The handbook of psychological testing. New York, NY: Routledge.
38.
KoenigH. G. (2010). Spirituality and mental health. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 7, 116–122. doi:10.1002/aps.239
39.
KohlbergL.HershR. H. (1977). Moral development: A review of the theory. Theory Into Practice, 16, 53–59. doi:10.1080/00405847709542675
40.
KosineN. R.StegerM. F.DuncanS. (2008). Purpose-centered career development: A strengths-based approach to finding meaning and purpose in careers. Professional School Counseling, 12, 133–136.
41.
LambieG. W.DavisK. M.MillerG. (2008). Spirituality: Implications for professional school counselors’ ethical practice. Counseling and Values, 52, 211–223.
42.
LantieriL. (Ed.). (2002). Schools with spirit: Nurturing the inner lives of children and teachers. Boston, MA: Beacon.
43.
LernerR. M. (2008). Spirituality, positive purpose, wisdom, and positive development in adolescence: Comments on Oman, Flinders, and Thoresen’s ideas about “Integrating Spiritual Modeling into Education.”Psychology of Religion, 18, 108–118.
44.
LernerR. M.AlbertsA. E.AndersonP. M.DowlingE. M. (2006). On making humans human: Spirituality and the promotion of positive youth development. In RoehlkepartainE. C.KingP.WagenerL.BensonP. L. (Eds.), The handbook of spiritual development in childhood and adolescence (pp. 60–72). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
45.
LernerR. M.OvertonW. F. (2008). Exemplifying the integrations of the relational developmental system: Synthesizing theory, research, and application to promote positive development and social justice system. Journal of Adolescent Research, 23, 245–255. doi:10.1177/0743558408314385
46.
LitwinM. S. (1995). How to measure survey reliability and validity. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
47.
LuyckxK.SchwartzS. J.BerzonskyM. D.SoenensB.VansteenkisteM.SmitsI.GoossensL. (2008). Capturing ruminative exploration: Extending the four-dimensional model of identity formation in late adolescence. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 58–82.
48.
MacCallumR. C.AustinJ. T. (2000). Applications of structural equation modeling in psychological research. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 201–226. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.51.1.201
49.
MahoneyA. (2010). Religion in families, 1999–2009: A relational spirituality framework. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 805–827.
50.
ManciniJ. A.RobertoK. A. (2009). Pathways of human development: Explorations of change. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield.
51.
MarshH. W. (2009). Confirmatory factor analysis models of factorial invariance: A multifaceted approach. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 1, 5–24.
52.
MarshH. W.HauK.-T.GraysonD. (2005). Goodness of fit evaluation in structural equation modeling. In Maydeu-OlivaresA.McArdleJ. (Eds.), Contemporary psychometrics. A Festschrift for Roderick P. McDonald (pp. 275–340). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
53.
MarkstromC. A.HueyE.StilesB. M.KrauseA. L. (2010). Frameworks of caring and helping in adolescence: Are empathy, religiosity, and spirituality related constructs?Youth & Society, 42, 59–80. doi:10.1177/0044118X09333644
54.
MickelE.LiddieB. (1998). Black family therapy: Spirituality, social constructivism and choice theory. International Journal of Reality Therapy, 18, 29–33.
55.
NunnallyJ. C.BernsteinI. (1994). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
56.
ParkN.PetersonC. (2008). Positive psychology and character strengths: Application to strengths-based school counseling, Professional School Counseling, 12, 85–92.
57.
ParkerS. (2011). Spirituality in counseling: A faith development perspective. Journal of Counseling & Development, 89, 112–120.
58.
PetersenA. C. (2008). Spiritual development in adolescence: Toward enriching theories, research, and professional practice. New Directions in Youth Development, 11, 119–130.
59.
PettM. A.LackeyN. R.SullivanJ. J. (2003). Making sense of factor analysis: The use of factor analysis for instrument development in health care research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
60.
PiagetJ.InhelderB. (2000). The psychology of the child (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Basic.
61.
ProctorC.LinleyP. A.MaltbyJ. (2010). Very happy youths: Benefits of very high life satisfaction among adolescents. Social Indicators Research, 98, 519–532.
62.
RaftopoulosM.BatesG. (2011). “It’s that knowing that you are not alone”: The role of spirituality in adolescent resilience. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 16, 151–167. doi:10.1080/1364436X.2011.580729
63.
RaskinJ. D. (2002). Constructivism in psychology: Personal construct psychology, radical constructivism, and social constructionism. In RaskinJ. D.BridgesS. K. (Eds.), Studies in meaning: Exploring constructivist psychology (pp. 1–25). New York, NY: Pace University Press.
64.
RichardsP.BartzJ. D.O’GradyK. A. (2009). Assessing religion and spirituality in counseling: Some reflections and recommendations. Counseling and Values, 54, 65–79.
65.
RoehlkepartainE. C. (2012). “It’s the way you look at things”: How young people around the world understand and experience spiritual development. In LawsonK. E. (Ed.), Understanding children’s spirituality: Theology, research, and practice (pp. 152–172). Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.
66.
SchreiberJ. B.NoraA.StageF. K.BarlowE. A.KingJ. (2006). Reporting structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis results: A review. Journal of Educational Research, 99, 323–337.
67.
SeoM.SinkC. A. (2010, August). Development of assessment of cross-cultural spiritual wellness of adolescents: Appraising the life perspectives of American and Korean youth. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Diego, CA.
68.
SeoM.SinkC. A.ChoH. (2011). Korean version of the life perspectives inventory: Psychometric properties and implications for high school counseling. Professional School Counseling, 15, 15–33.
SinkC. A. (2009). Life Perspectives Inventory (LPI)—English version and technical report (Unpublished). Seattle, WA: Seattle Pacific University.
71.
SinkC. A.ClevelandR. (2012). Spirituality an untapped developmental asset: Implications for school counseling. Counselling and Spirituality, 31, 15–38.
72.
SinkC. A.DevlinJ. M. (2011). Student spirituality and school counseling: Issues, opportunities, and challenges. Counseling and Values, 55, 130–148.
73.
SinkC. A.HyunJ. (2012). A comprehensive review of research on child and adolescent spirituality: Evidence for the inclusion of spirituality in school counseling. Journal of Asia Pacific Counseling, 2, 19–43.
74.
SmithC. L.DentonM. L. (2005). Soul searching: The religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
75.
StrikeK. A. (2010). Small schools and strong communities: A third way of school reform. New York, NY: Teachers College, Columbia University.
76.
SumerlinT.LittrellJ. (2011). The heart of the school counselor: Understanding passion over the span of a career. Professional School Counseling, 14, 278–285.
77.
TabachnickB. G.FidellL. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
78.
TerjesenM. D.JacofskyM.FrohJ.DiGiuseppeR. (2004). Integrating positive psychology into schools: Implications for practice. Psychology in the Schools, 41, 163–172.
79.
VygotskyL. S. (1994). The Vygotsky reader (van der VeerR.ValsinerJ.ProutT.Eds.). Cambridge, England: Basil Blackwell.
80.
WattsR. E. (2011). Embracing both a constructivist counseling approach and a specific religious tradition: Is it a leap of faith?Counseling and Values, 56(1–2), 3–9.
81.
WestonR.GoreP. A.Jr. (2006). A brief guide to structural equation modeling. The Counseling Psychologist, 34, 719–751. doi:10.1177/0011000006286345
82.
YeagerD. S.BundickM. J. (2009). The role of purposeful work goals in promoting meaning in life and in schoolwork during adolescence. Journal of Adolescent Research, 24, 423–452.
83.
YehC. J.BorreroN. E.SheaM. (2011). Spirituality as a cultural asset for culturally diverse youth in urban schools. Counseling and Values, 55, 185–198.
84.
YonkerJ. E.SchnabelrauchC. A.DeHaanL. G. (2012). The relationship between spirituality and religiosity on psychological outcomes in adolescents and emerging adults: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Adolescence, 35, 299–314.
