Evidence for the Brief Mysticism Scale: Psychometric Properties, and Moderation and Mediation Effects in Predicting Spiritual Self-identification
July 24, 2021 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/6bx2s (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Longitudinal study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 3,074 |
| Population | American and German adults |
| Duration | Three waves, average 4 to 5 years apart |
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Keywords | Religiosity Moderation Scale ratio Mediation Spirituality Theology |
| Key findings | The 8-item brief Mysticism Scale shows good psychometric properties, moderates the effect of self-rated religiosity on self-rated spirituality, and mediates the prediction of self-rated religiosity on self-rated spirituality over time. |
Abstract
How are mystical experiences related to self-rated spirituality? Is the recently developed short 8-item version of Hood’s (1975) Mysticism Scale an efficient measurement? The current study expands evidence for both questions using N = 1,582 American and N = 1,492 German samples measured in three waves, average 4 to 5 years apart. Results show that the 8-item brief M-Scale has good psychometric property evidenced by 1) measurement invariance across time, and 2) good test-retest reliability. Results further demonstrate that the 8-item brief M-Scale 3) moderates the effect of self-rated religiosity on self-rated spirituality, and 4) mediates the prediction of self-rated religiosity on self-rated spirituality over time. We conclude that the M-Scale can be used as a measure for self-attributed spirituality and that the 8-item brief version of the M-Scale can be used, when questionnaire length is an issue.