Cognitive Spirituality and Hope in Catholic High School Students

Abstract

This study explores the validity of a construct of cognitive spirituality as measured by a recent measure, the Spirituality Index of Well-Being, in a sample of Catholic high school students. Spirituality on this scale is conceptualized as a composite of life scheme (having meaning in one’s life) and generalized self-efficacy. Construct-based validity evidence was produced through factor analysis and examination of correlations between the spirituality scale and subscale scores with scale and subscales on the Children’s Hope 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 Spirituality Index of Well-Being also demonstrated high internal reliability in this sample. It is argued that the goal of Catholic education is education of the whole person and that this conceptualization of spirituality is consistent with that goal. The Spirituality Index of Well-Being appears to be a valid and reliable measure of cognitive spirituality for this population and a useful indicator of student-well-being.