The problem concerns determining whether healthy and unhealthy religious beliefs can be distinguished. A 150 item Religious Beliefs Inventory (RBI) was developed to assess healthy and unhealthy religious beliefs. In a pilot study, RBI scales were developed and the MMPI-168 was used as the criteria measure. Fifteen of the 23 RBI scales yielded an average reliability of .79 and an average validity of .48 for 95 undergraduate university subjects. The present study seeks to cross-validate the results of the pilot study with a church-active sample. Six judges/pastors evaluated RBI items as healthy or unhealthy and their responses were used to formulate and validate the RBI scoring system. For the 196 church-active subjects, Hypothesis 1 is supported by eleven of the seventeen significant predicted correlations between the RBI and the validity criteria MMPI- 168, ranging from .14 to .28 with an average of .20. The average reliability of 15 RBI scales is .71. Hypothesis 2 is supported by five of eight significant predicted positive correlations between the RBI and the Rehfisch RI (Rigidity) scale, ranging from .18 to .25 with an average of .17. One or more of the following explanations may account for the absence of higher and more numerous significant correlations for support for Hypotheses 1 and 2 found in the present study: (a) the distribution of scores on 18 of 24 RBI scales are skewed to the right; (b) there are significant differences between characteristics of the pilot study undergraduate sample and the church-active sample participating in the present study; (c) there is a need to assess an individual's degree of involvement in his religious beliefs; (d) psychometric improvements are needed in the RBI; and (e) limitations of the validity criteria. In conclusion, although the RBI is not ready for clinical use, fifteen of the RBI scales appear to hold promise and deserve further revision and research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc330756 |
| Date | 08 1900 |
| Creators | Gardiner, Joseph R. (Joseph Rowe) |
| Contributors | Harrell, Ernest H., Johnson, Ray W., Burke, Angela J., Haynes, Jack Read |
| Publisher | North Texas State University |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | iv, 111 leaves, Text |
| Rights | Public, Gardiner, Joseph R. (Joseph Rowe), Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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