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Published in: Journal of Religion and Health 2/2018

01-04-2018 | Original Paper

Confirming the Tripartite Structure of the Duke University Religion Index: A Methodological Approach

Authors: John W. Lace, Paul J. Handal

Published in: Journal of Religion and Health | Issue 2/2018

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Abstract

The present study provided a methodological critique regarding psychometric investigations of the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) and its variants. Nine hundred seventeen (630 females and 287 males) university students (M age = 19.24) completed the DUREL, the Personal Religious Inventory, and the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale online. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to assess a three-factor (organizational religious activity; non-organizational religious activity; and intrinsic religiosity) and a unidimensional model of the DUREL. Chi-square difference tests were performed, and Akaike information criterion values and Bayesian information criterion values were compared between the models, each of which supported the three-factor model for the DUREL over the unidimensional model. Convergent validity for the three factors of the DUREL emerged through Spearman’s rho correlations with measures of personal prayer, ritual religious attendance, religious integration, Closeness to the Divine. This study concluded that the DUREL is a multidimensional measurement of religion for use in English-speaking university students, and it provided a broad methodological note regarding future investigations of measures of religion or spirituality that possess an existing theoretical model.
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Metadata
Title
Confirming the Tripartite Structure of the Duke University Religion Index: A Methodological Approach
Authors
John W. Lace
Paul J. Handal
Publication date
01-04-2018
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Religion and Health / Issue 2/2018
Print ISSN: 0022-4197
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6571
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0556-0

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