Spanish Translation, Validation, and Factor Structure of the Religious/Spiritual Struggles Scale With Puerto Rican Adults

Abstract

Religious/spiritual struggles (RSS) have been reported as a risk factor for mental health. Therefore, it is justified to explore how this construct may manifest among religious/spiritual people from diverse origins. The aims of this study were to: (1) translate and adapt the RSS Scale from English to Spanish; (2) examine its internal consistency (using α and ω coefficients); (3) explore its concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity; and (4) examine its factor structure via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in a sample of 225 Puerto Rican adults. The Spanish RSS Scale showed excellent psychometric properties. In CFA with robust maximum likelihood estimation, a 25-item Spanish version of the instrument replicated the six-factor structure of the original 26-item English version and showed excellent reliability. The 25-item RSS scale also presented adequate concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity. This work advances the development of measures of religious and spiritual aspects in Puerto Ricans.