Top

Published in:

01-06-2017 | Original Paper

Construction and Validation of Afterlife Belief Scale for Muslims

Authors: Saba Ghayas, Syeda Shahida Batool

Published in: Journal of Religion and Health | Issue 3/2017

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a scale in Urdu language for measuring different dimensions of afterlife belief. The scale was subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis on a sample of 504 individuals (235 men and 269 women) recruited from different cities in the Punjab, Pakistan. After exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, 16 items were retained with three well-defined factor structures of afterlife belief: positive, negative, and extinction. The alpha coefficients of the subscales ranged from .65 to .78. Convergent and discriminant validity of the subscales of Afterlife Belief Scale was determined by finding its relationship with the Pleasant Afterlife Belief Scale, the Unpleasant Afterlife Belief Scale, the Anxiety Subscale of DASS, and the Belief in Equitable World Scale. The results support that the newly developed scale has promising validity.

Bering, J. M. (2006). The cognitive science of souls: Clarifications and extensions of the evolutionary model. Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 29(5), 486–493. doi:10.1017/s0140525x06499106.

Burisch, M. (1984). Approaches to personality inventory construction. A comparison of merits. American Psychologist, 39, 214–227.CrossRef

Chaplin, S. (2000). The psychology of time and death. Ashland, OH: Sonnet.

Cohen, A. B., Pierce, J. D., Chambers, J., Meade, R., Gorvine, B. J., & Koenig, H. G. (2005). Intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity, belief in the afterlife, death anxiety, and life satisfaction in young Catholics and Protestants. Journal of Research in Personality, 39(3), 307–324. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2004.02.005.CrossRef

Deziel, C. (2015). Hindu beliefs about dying, death & the afterlife. Classroom synonym. Retrieved from http://classroom.synonym.com/hindu-beliefs-dying-death-afterlife-5605.html.

Ellison, C. G., Burdette, A. M., & Hill, T. D. (2009). Blessed assurance: Religion, anxiety, and tranquillity among US adults. Social Science Research, 38(3), 656–667. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2009.02.002.CrossRefPubMed

Epps, H. (2014). Afterlife. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=qFnqAwAAQBAJ&dq=Epps+).+AFTERLIFE+BELIEF&source=gbs_navlinks_s.

Exline, J. J. (2002). The picture is getting clearer, but is the scope too limited? Three overlooked Questions in the psychology of religion. Psychological Inquiry, 13(2), 245–247. doi:10.1207/s15327965pli1303_07.CrossRef

Farooqi, Y., & Habib, M. (2010). Gender differences in anxiety, depression and stress among survivors of suicide bombing. Pakistan Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 8(2), 145–155.

Flannelly, K. J., Ellison, C. G., Galek, K., & Koenig, H. G. (2008). Beliefs about life-after-death, psychiatric symptomology and cognitive theories of psychopathology. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 36, 94–103.

Flannelly, K. J., Koenig, H. G., Ellison, C. G., Galek, K., & Krause, N. (2006). Belief in life after death and mental health: Findings from a national survey. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 194(7), 524–529. doi:10.1097/01.nmd.0000224876.63035.23.CrossRefPubMed

Flannely, K., Ellison, C. J., Galek, K., & Silton, N. R. (2012). Belief in life-after-death, beliefs about the world, and psychiatric symptoms. Journal of Religion and Health, 48(1), 4–14. doi:10.1007/s10943-012-9608-7.

Gable, R. K., & Wolf, M. B. (1993). Instrument development in the affective domain: Measuring attitudes and values in corporate and school settings (2nd ed.). Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.CrossRef

Gray, J. D. (2015). Three questions for comparing and contrasting the afterlife beliefs of six prominent world religions. The immortality project. University of California. Retrieved from http://www.sptimmortalityproject.com/background/three-questions-for-comparing-and-contrasting-the-afterlife-beliefs-of-six-prominent-world-religions/.

Gregory, R. J. (2014). Psychological testing: History, principles and applications (6th ed.). India: Pearson Publishers.

Harding, S. R., Flannelly, K. J., Weaver, A. J., & Costa, K. G. (2005). The influence of religion on death anxiety and death acceptance. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 8(4), 253–261. doi:10.1080/13674670412331304311.CrossRef

Hatcher, L. (1994). A step-by-step approach to using the SAS® System for factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc.

Hui, V. K., & Coleman, P. G. (2012). Afterlife beliefs and ego integrity as two mediators of the relationship between intrinsic religiosity and personal death anxiety among older adult British Christians. Research on Aging, 35(2), 144–162. doi:10.1177/0164027512436429.CrossRef

Jayaram, V. (2015). Death and afterlife in Hinduism. Retrieved from http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_death.asp.

Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Manual for the depression anxiety stress scales (2nd ed.). Sydney: Psychology Foundation.

Lundh, L., & Radon, V. (1998). Death anxiety as a function of belief in an afterlife: A comparison between a questionnaire measure and a stroop measure of death anxiety. Personality and Individual Differences, 25(3), 487–494. doi:10.1016/s0191-8869(98)00072-5.CrossRef

Malik, S., & Ghayas, S. (2015). Construction and validation of academic perfectionism scale for university undergraduates. M.Phil. Dissertation, Department of Psychology, University of Sargodha.

Masumian, F. (1995). Life after death: A study of the afterlife in world religions (1st ed.). USA: Kalimat Press.

McClain-Jacobson, C., Rosenfeld, B., Kosinski, A., Pessin, H., Cimino, J. E., & Breitbart, W. (2004). Belief in an afterlife, spiritual well-being and end-of-life despair in patients with advanced cancer. General Hospital Psychiatry, 26(6), 484–486. doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2004.08.002.CrossRefPubMed

Obayashi, H. (1992). Death and afterlife: Perspective of world religions. New York: Greenwood Press.

Saul, H. (2015). Women ‘two thirds more likely’ to believe in God and afterlife than men. NBC news. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/women-two-thirds-more-and-afterlife-than-men-9991700.html.

Silton, N. R., Flannelly, K. J., Ellison, C. G., Galek, K., Jacobs, M. R., Marcum, J. P., et al. (2011). The association between religious beliefs and practices and end-of-life fears among members of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Review of Religious Research, 53, 357–370. doi:10.1007/s13644-011-0015-4.CrossRef

Smith, J. L., & Haddad, Y. Y. (2002). The Islamic understanding of death and resurrection. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRef

Spilka, B., Hood, R. H., Hunsberger, B., & Gorsuch, R. (2003). The psychology of religion: An empirical approach (3rd ed.). New York: The Guilford Press.

Spilka, B., Minton, B., Sizemore, D., & Stout, L. (1977). Death and personal faith: A psychometric investigation. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 16, 169–178.

Stark, R., & Bainbridge, W. S. (1996). A theory of religion. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

Title: Construction and Validation of Afterlife Belief Scale for Muslims
Authors: Saba Ghayas
Syeda Shahida Batool
Publication date: 01-06-2017
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Religion and Health / Issue 3/2017
Print ISSN: 0022-4197
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6571
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0258-z

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Construction and Validation of Afterlife Belief Scale for Muslims

Abstract

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 3/2017

Religion and Public Health: Moral Tradition as Both Problem and Solution

Religiosity: Its Impact on Coping Styles Among Women Undergoing Fertility Treatment

Religious Belief and Mental Health in Lay and Consecrated Italian Teachers

Protective Role of Spirituality from the Perspective of Indian College Students with Suicidal Ideation: “I am here Because God Exists”

Youth from Fundamentalist Societies: What are Their Attitudes Toward War and Peace and Their Relations with Anxiety Reactions?

The Suicide Paradigm: Insights from Ancient Hindu Scriptures