Strength of Religious Faith in Peruvian Adolescents and Adults: Psychometric Evidence from the Original and Short Versions of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire in Spanish

Adaptation of the Short Version of Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire in Türkiye

The present study was conducted to adapt the short version of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire into Turkish and to examine the validity and reliability of the scale. This methodological study was conducted between January and May 2024 with 283 individuals aged 18 and older in Turkey. Data were collected online by using "Personal Information Form" and the "Short Version of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire". It was found that all participants believed in God. According to the study results, item-based content validity index (I-CVI) was between 0.87 and 1.00, and the scale-based content validity index (S-CVI) was found to be 0.98. Factor loadings of the scale items vary between 0.570 and 0.840. Fit indices of the scale were calculated as follows: X2 = 9.64, df = 4 (p < 0.05), X2/df = 2.41, RMSEA = 0.071, CFI = 0.99, SRMR = 0.021, TLI = 0.98, RMR = 0.012, AIC = 31.64. The overall Cronbach's alpha value of the scale was 0.860, and the Omega reliability value was 0.866. Short Version of the 5-item Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire was validated without any changes to the original form. The Turkish version of the Short Version of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring individuals' strength of religious faith.

Positive and negative emotions in patients with Sudeck's syndrome according to religiosity before and after the disease

BACKGROUND

Sudeck's syndrome is a chronic and painful disease that affects a significant number of people. Despite this, it is a disease little researched in general and even less in the field of the psychology of religion. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between religiosity and emotions in patients with Sudeck's syndrome.

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE

The sample consisted of 80 people with Sudeck's syndrome, 92.5% of whom were women. The average age of the participants was 41.8 years, with a range of 23 to 60 years. Participants came from fourteen different countries in the Americas and Europe, including Spain (36.3%), Argentina (20%) and Peru (15%). A clinical and sociodemographic data sheet was used, as well as questions aimed at assessing the emotional state of the participants.

RESULTS

The results indicate that patients experienced a significant increase in anxiety and sadness after the diagnosis of the disease, while optimism and energy decreased significantly. On the other hand, no differences were found in positive or negative emotions in believing or non-believing patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The data suggest that the diagnosis of Sudeck's syndrome has a negative impact on the emotional health of individuals and that this is independent of whether the patient is a believer or non-believer. However, further research is needed to confirm these findings and to explore the underlying mechanisms of this relationship.

Sociodemographic aspects, beliefs about lifestyles, and religiosity as predictors of life satisfaction in Peruvian university students: a cross-sectional study

Introduction

Beliefs and practices related to healthy lifestyles and religiosity can play an important role in overall well-being. However, few studies have explored the association between these factors and life satisfaction in the university context. This study examined the association between sociodemographic aspects, lifestyle beliefs, and religiosity with life satisfaction in university students.

Methods

A cross-sectional predictive study was conducted during the months of March and May 2024 at a private university located in the northern region of Peru. Validated instruments were distributed that included a lifestyle beliefs scale, the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire-Short Form (SCSRFQ-SF), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and a sociodemographic data section. A total of 1,258 students participated in the study. Multiple linear regression models were used for predictive analysis.

Results

Being a student of foreign origin, compared to being Peruvian, is negatively and significantly associated with life satisfaction (β = -0.066, p = 0.003). In contrast, a positive association is observed between belonging to the Faculty of Health Sciences (β = 0.119, p = 0.048) and life satisfaction, compared to students from other faculties. Furthermore, lifestyle beliefs (β = 0.579; p < 0.001) and religiosity (β = 0.182; p < 0.001) are positively and significantly associated with life satisfaction.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that universities and health professionals should consider promoting healthy lifestyles and supporting religious practices as important strategies to improve student life satisfaction, considering relevant sociodemographic aspects.

The effects of strength of religious faith on post-traumatic growth in patients with epilepsy

AIM

This study was conducted to examine the effects of strength of religious faith on post-traumatic growth in patients with epilepsy.

METHOD

This cross-sectional and correlational study was conducted with 112 participants who were admitted to the neurology outpatient clinic of a university hospital in eastern Turkey, who met the research criteria and agreed to participate in the study. The data were collected by using "Descriptive Information Form", "Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSRFQ)", and "Post-traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI)". Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire SCRFSQ has a maximum strength of faith score of 40 points and the PGTI has a maximum growth after a traumatic event score of 105 points.

RESULTS

Mean SCSRFQ total score of the participants was found to be 31.04 ± 5.17. Mean PTGI total score was found to be 60.54 ± 16.50. As a result of the regression analysis, it was found that the independent variable affected the dependent variable PTGI total score significantly (F(1,110) = 13.999, p = 0.000). It was also found that the independent variable affected the PTGI total score positively (β = 0.336) and explained 11% of the PTGI total score (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

It was found that the participants had high strength of religious faith score and moderate post-traumatic growth score. It was found that post-traumatic growth increased as strength of religious faith increased.

Effects of watching eyes and norm cues on charitable giving in a surreptitious behavioral experiment

A series of experimental studies by multiple groups of researchers have found that displaying images of watching eyes causes people to behave more prosocially. It is not yet clear whether watching eyes increase prosocial motivation per se, or whether they simply make people's behavior more normative. Here, we report results from a surreptitious behavioral experiment examining the impacts of watching eye images and cues to local norms on charitable donations in a controlled setting. Eye images significantly increased average donations. Eye images did not make people conform more closely to the apparent norm overall. Instead, there were different patterns according to the apparent norm. For an apparent norm of small donations, eye images made many participants more generous than the norm. For an apparent norm of large donations, there was an excess of participants giving zero in the no-eyes treatment, which was abolished in the eyes treatment. Our results can be explained by a combination of watching eyes increasing prosocial motivation and reluctance to leave a donation visibly less generous than the norm.