Spiritual well-being and mental health in Chinese college students: validation of the revised SHALOM

Spiritual well-being (SWB) is an established protective factor for mental health, yet more systematic evidence from mainland Chinese university students is still needed. This study aimed to revise and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Fisher’s Spiritual Health and Life-Orientation Measure (SHALOM), including its ideal Value and Lived Experience forms, in a sample of Chinese college students. A total of 1,091–1,306 students completed SHALOM, with 788 participants completing a one-month retest. Analyses included internal consistency, test–retest reliability, intraclass correlation coefficients, confirmatory factor analysis, graded response modeling, and assessments of convergent and predictive validity using life satisfaction, meaning in life, resilience, and university personality inventory (UPI) scores. The revised Ideal Value and Lived Experience scales of SHALOM—each originally comprising 20 items and reduced to 17 items following item refinement (SHALOM-I17R/L17R) showed high internal consistency (α = 0.87–0.94), strong test–retest reliability (ICCs = 0.73–0.82), and acceptable three-factor model fit (personal-communal, environmental, transcendental). Graded response modeling indicated strong item discrimination and optimal precision at low-to-moderate SWB levels. Convergent validity was supported by positive links with life satisfaction, meaning, and resilience, and predictive validity by negative correlations with university personality inventory scores. Personal–communal and environmental domains emerged as the strongest of mental-health. The revised SHALOM is a reliable tool for assessing SWB and is significantly associated with indicators of psychological risk in Chinese college populations.