Validation of a 14-Item Version of the Religious and Spiritual Struggles (RSS-14) Scale in an Iranian Population: Psychometric Properties

Background: Exline et al. developed a short-form version of 14-item Religious and Spiritual Struggle Scale (RSS-14) to assess six dimensions, including divine, demonic, interpersonal, ethical, doubt, and ultimate meaning. The 26-item scale was previously introduced, but it was shortened to a 14-item version because it was excessively lengthy and impractical in certain contexts. Objectives: The current research aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the short form of Exline’s RSS when applied to the Iranian population. Methods: This study employed a descriptive-correlational research design. The sample comprised 300 Iranian adults aged 18 - 65, selected using a convenience sampling technique. The Persian version of the scale was administered alongside the Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire (SWBQ; developed by Ellison et al., 1983) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; developed by Cohen et al., 1994). To evaluate the scale’s validity, both confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were conducted, as well as convergent and divergent validity. Cronbach's alpha was calculated to determine the scale’s reliability. All ethical guidelines were adhered to in this study, and the authors declare no conflict of interest. Results: The EFA indicated a four-factor structure for the RSS-14, comprising “feeling religiously rejected”, “ambiguous religious/spiritual identity”, “feeling threatened by the devil”, and “challenging the meaning of life”. Confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the factor structure identified through EFA. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the factors ranged from 0.70 to 0.79, and for the total scale, it was 0.82, suggesting satisfactory internal consistency among the scale items. Furthermore, composite reliability (CR) values exceeding 0.70 indicated robust convergent validity. The correlation coefficient between the religious and spiritual struggle score and the spiritual well-being score was -0.55, demonstrating divergent validity; additionally, the correlation coefficient between the religious struggles score and the PSS score was 0.2, supporting the convergent validity of the scale. Conclusions: Given the satisfactory psychometric properties of the Persian version of the RSS-14, it can be reliably employed as a valid instrument within the Iranian population.